Descendants of the Force
by Xacharus
Summary: Set immediately after The Force Awakens, Rey's encounter with Luke puts them on the path to unearthing the past. Mysteries are unraveling and bringing Rey's questionable origin into light. The galaxy is poised for another battle over the soul of the Force and Kylo Ren's inevitable return threatens the hope that balance will ever be restored... REYLO (since the beginning).
1. Necessary Evils

**A/N: Hello you lovely things, you. It's been a bit over a decade since I've churned one of these things out but I've got an idea so do bear with me...**

 **(I) Necessary Evils**

Gusts of wind raced between them, dancing around and over and under her extended arm going numb from how long she'd held it directed at him. She quivered slightly though his gaze remained unfazed by the shifts in her balance. Her head was pounding. The lightsaber, directed like some gross, antiquated bridge of hope between them, was heavier than it looked. Somehow she'd pictured something, indeed, _lighter_ and possibly more easy to work with agility. She'd been wrong. And now she stood in the chill of a darkening day face to face with a broken, laconic legend who looked more like a fossil ready to be reburied than someone who'd navigated the wiles of the Force and restored, if only for a time, peace in the galaxy and a balance.

Her arm trembled only slightly but the weight was beginning to strain her muscles. She stared at him, staring at her. They would maintain this paralysis as long as it was necessary. His jaw was clenched so tight it was as if he had no intention of speaking til the end of time itself but she felt herself responding to this silent monolith nonetheless, with new stirrings of acquaintance she could not account for. He felt it, too. She didn't know how it was possible to tell for his eyes had grown even colder since her arrival, his form stiffer and the air pregnant with the discomfort of a history un-shared, seething on the surface and waiting to lunge out.

...And he _had_ brought peace, if only for a time... If the stories were true- and she'd heard so many variations, dreamed up so many scenarios in her solitude she was hard-pressed to separate fact from fiction- then the Jedis of old had not been mistaken in their prophecy. There _had_ been one who brought balance to the Force... Unfortunately, no one had anticipated that that balance would be in favor of the dark for it did not do to dwell on evil thoughts in times of peace. They had been blinded by that peace, so much so that they had not only been ignorant of the shadow growing under their noises- they had helped it seize power. And evil had continued to breed, as is in its nature to do and the cycle of the struggle between the archetypes remained unbroken. Vader had never been the problem. Certainly he had been _a_ problem but he was a mere symbol championing a way of life that would have meant the annihilation of everything they held dear, everything good. There were always more like him for one's existence depends entirely upon the other and Vader had been a necessary evil, if the prophecy was anything to go by.

His lip stiffened as did her arm. He'd been following her train of thought, perhaps, but it didn't bother her. Rey had had nothing but time to think all those years in the desolation and poverty of the solitude she'd been confined to. The memories upset her immediately. Nothing but heat and sand and thoughts... She would never know if it had been the strain to her muscles or the weight of the fatigue from her recent adventures but she finally dropped her arm, still clutching the lightsaber, disappointed at her self-loathing and seeming ineptitude to get any task done. He wouldn't have hesitated to take the saber if Han were... She choked back something annoying in her throat and turned her head when suddenly she felt the lightsaber rip away from her grip and fly into the hand of its former owner. Her head snapped back and she watched him, half-horrified, studying the thing as if he'd never seen it in his life. It was not the first time that day Rey questioned whether or not she'd made a huge mistake. They remained engulfed in silence.

"Master Skywalker," she said, finally breaking his troublesome reverie. After all, she had come on a task, come for answers, and she would stay for as long as it took to get them. Was it the howling wind that had finally got his attention or the sound of her voice so unfamiliar and laden with a connection he could not deny? He looked at her as if he wanted to speak but was out of practice with his voice. It was getting darker now and they would need to descend towards shelter soon as the waves no longer seemed possessed of their earlier tranquility.

"Master Skywalker," she repeated and this time it was almost a reminder to him of who he had been and who she now needed him to be. "I've been sent by the Resistance to find you."

"Sent..." he said and his voice was as craggy as they had both expected it to be. He tucked his lightsaber into the fold of his robe, never breaking his gaze with the girl. "Who are you?" It was barely above a whisper and the eyes whose shape she could barely make out were glowing like beacons in the settling night. In truth, there was no right way to answer that question.

"I'm...I'm Rey," she managed to breathe out. "I pilot the Millenium Falcon now that..." That lump in her throat again. Now was not the time so she let the sentence hang though he seemed to have anticipated her. "The lightsaber- it called to me. I've seen things-" she began and a chill ran down her spine as the temperature plummeted and the serenity of the sunset was broken by the oceanic storm now soaking them through. Luke ignored the weather and it seemed to her that he wasn't done with his study, that he was undecided as to whether he should allow her to seek shelter with him or banish her there and then.

Lightening struck on the horizon and there it was again, that feeling he hadn't been able to rid himself of completely since the moment she'd arrived. And as she stared at him, quaking in the cold, a miserable thing ready to do the bidding of one she'd referred to as _master_ , he allowed himself to search his feelings- a task he'd long since forsaken- and to follow the thread of the connection he was almost scared to acknowledge. Unsurprisingly he found the lingering taint of his nephew in the recesses of her mind and she wondered how she let him in so casually, master or no. The rain brought with it images he had been unprepared for; his nephew again, armed and lethal while his on-going battle with the light undeniable, Han fading into the depths of an undeserved end, his last testament hope, everlasting... He saw himself and R2-D2, this girl, Rey, facing the next chapter of a story that now entrenched them all and, finally, he saw a little girl, deserted in the sands of an infernal paradise. He saw a ship speeding off into the sky, leaving a crying child to an unknown fate and prodded deeper. Rey shivered and tried to warm herself. Luckily the rain was disguising any tears that may have been streaming across her face and she let him in further, hoping to give him enough to establish some trust between them. And he reached in further until he saw the silhouette of a grizzled man, his face cut with an unreadable expression, seemingly devoid of emotion, carrying the girl, still asleep in his arms, off the ship and into the blinding brightness of Jakku. He saw that face and his own twisted with confusion at this deepening mystery. How-

 _Lando Calrissian._


	2. Ghosts

**A/N:Hope you're enjoying the** **story thus far and that it's piqued your interest. The timeline's going to be a bit tricky to work but I know where I'm going with this so expect more surprises. Please excuse any spelling mistakes** **(my spe** **llcheck is already going bugnuts with all the names I'm throwing at it). Enjoy, you lovely things, you.**

 **(II) Ghosts**

How it had come down to these dirty, cryptic machinations was anyone's guess. Truly there was a source but the story reached back into the depths of memories he no longer sought solace in for there was not enough comfort left in the galaxy, not enough drink left in the bottle to save any of them. Did he dare indulge anyway? What the hell; it wouldn't be the first time. He took a swig and coughed immediately. It burned more than it should have.

Lando knew himself to have been a better man once upon a time. These days the Lando who had once been seemed as distant as the skies upon which the Cloud City had floated. So much for that lost whore of a dream that was a free Bespin. Over the years he'd made forgetting his modus operandi but with the news of Han's fall everything came crashing back faster than a 12 parsec Kessel run and... he chuckled sorrowfully at his own twisted nostalgia and took another swill from the creature's hand before it'd even set the glass on the bar. Not much longer til he got kicked out of the canteena so he allowed himself the remaining drudges of his respite. Wallowing had become the favored sport of the decade.

Staying in touch with Leia, however sporadic, had been a mistake and he knew that now. After all was said and done he should have left them all to their fates but the galaxy was far too small for that family and even smaller for their mistakes. He slammed the glass down on the counter harder than he should have, drawing unwanted attention. _That's it,_ he told himself, _one more stunt and out you go again. Damn their sorry-_ There wasn't a spaceport, canteena, hovel or sinkhole left for him to mope in and drinking alone would have been unbearable. No- never alone. Not with all the ghosts. The ghosts haunted him through the days and the nights, caring nothing for the bloodshot insomnia he knew was the least of what he deserved. _And you had to go and get yourself killed, you bastard..._

He could hear the tortured screams of the little girl, so piercing it was as if the sand beneath her feet had set her ablaze. But he'd made a bargain with the time's reigning evil and he'd set out to make right by it, by them all, even if he couldn't bring himself to kill an innocent child.

He'd told Vader, made even the Sith Lord understand that he was no bounty hunter, no killer of the innocent... But the shell of Anakin Skywalker would not be made to understand nor was he deterred from demanding Lando as his assassin in exchange for the safety of Bespin. After all, the Death Star was still presumed operational and the hope of the Rebel Alliance's victory such a pipe-dream-

"More of that other stuff," he said in his normal gritted manner, rubbing at his eyes with his fists, elbows propped up on the counter, his shoulders above his ears. _Your witchery brought us all to this, Vader. You cursed the entire galaxy to this madness._ When the new prophecy had been foretold of the one who would mar the balance of the Force, he hadn't paid it much mind. Vader's verbal conjuring had meant nothing to him at the time and with his ultimate end at the hands of his son, the deal was, as far as Lando was concerned, null and void. Had they not defeated the ultimate evil? In any case, prophecies were old news; stories he'd especially come to take for granted in light of the all-too-real scheming he'd partaken in. And then, as if the days of peace were but a smear of cloud lightly touched upon a sky of poison, they were over and from the embers of a not yet ashen Empire rose the First Order- and the first betrayal. He stuck his nail into a groove in the bar and ran it back and forth, looking away into the past...The moment Ben turned he became a young Vader reborn and Lando saw something die inside of his friends; his friends who had deserved their dearly bought happiness many times over. That day something had died inside them all and the Skywalker family was broken anew.

Few knew how he, Lando, had happened upon Luke that day on Endor, sunken by his father's pyre, as lost in the flames as his innocence despite the festivities of a galaxy apparently freed from corruption. Even fewer knew it was he who salvaged the remnants of Vader- his helmet- to keep as some perverse reminder of the delicate edge they all teetered on. Night after night he peered into the burnt mask, demanding questions before answers, any sort of clarity, oftentimes scared it would metamorphose from its broken bones into a new Sith lord and strike him down. Other times _wishing_ it would. They had all lost too much in the wars...

One night, as he sat contemplating by the fire, he heard whisperings so thin and biting they froze the very tendrils of his heart. He ignored them at first, attributing it to some sort of post-traumatic stress from the battles he'd been all to eager to play hero in but as the night permeated, so did the messages until he knew once more his oath to the light-returned.

 _Find her,_ it hissed in the emptiness. _She must be destroyed before she breaks the balance._

Nothing had made sense in that pitch room, his sweating chest heaving with each command his ears strove to defy. But he couldn't bring himself to do it. She'd been such a young, innocent thing. _Han, you sonofabitch, you were no help,_ he thought and chuckled again, this time almost choking on the drink serving as a balm for his hoarse throat. The only person in the galaxy he trusted hadn't been able to make sense of the cryptic message and had gone all but ballistic when he found out that a part of Vader, however inanimate, had survived the pyre. They'd had a full row that day- Han turning his back immediately on what he'd called _hokey ghost stories and the space cases who believe in them_ and he trying to get his wits back about him before they went at it again, fists and all.

That is, until the First Order. The day they sought to to take over Bespin was the day Lando found her; still a small, young thing in her atrocious mother's arms. The sight of the woman still plagued him for she was something vile to behold, dressed entirely in reds and blacks like some regal tarantula about to be choked by its own billowing skins. Lando believed in the Force well enough, except when it concerned himself, though he would vouch until his dying breath it was the Force what guided him that day and he knew the child even before she knew herself. The rest was a frenzied escapade as he did one of the few things he was exceedingly good at: he smuggled. The child was inconsolable but he made it to the farthest destination he could think of: Jakku. It was a desert wasteland beyond the scope of anyone hostile and if Luke had made it on Tatooine... Marooning her was not what he had agreed to but he would not be made a killer, no matter how steeped in to the drink he was... _I'm not a killer. I ain't no killer... Did the right thing...Then ya had to go and get killed, you bastard. But I didn't kill ya, though I wanted to a few times. I ain't a killer. Did the right thing..._

"That remains to be seen, Calrissian."

He'd been so drunk in his misery he hadn't noticed the lack of music in the canteena or the withering silence of the merrymakers as the figure cloaked entirely in black stood behind him menacingly.

"There was a time you used to call me _Uncle Lando_ ," he said, staving off the alcohol for all the good it did him. "Yeah... sure was a long time ago," he said finally turning around on his seat to face yet another ghost.

"Do not make this difficult for yourself, Calrissian. Now tell me: _where_ is my disciple?" 


	3. Visions of the Force

**A/N: Tha** **nk you to everyone who is still on board. I'm making every effort to make this worth your while. It's difficult to attempt a different spin with all the lineage theories flying about but I've accepted the challenge nonetheless and hope that the surprises end up being...well... surprising! A note on the shifting perspectives: with such a history-laden mythology one can't help infuse background, if only for the sake of reference (however non-canon those references may be). If indeed there are any errors in continuity I shall hope to catch them early on or remain blissfully ignorant and go about my merry way. Fanfiction does offer us such perks. And now, enjoy, you lovely things, you.**

 **(III) Visions of the Force**

Visions often came to him like shadows crawling out of a primordial ooze, their roots stuck deep, their sinewy half-limbs writhing to get out. The visions had been his constant companions throughout his masked life and he had all but perfected the art of recognition. That is: his ability to recognize the constants within a shape-shifting future and a distant light within the nightmares. It was his curse to bear.

To act upon half-truths and take calculated risks to ensure victory was another matter entirely but, again, it was a task he had become accustomed to, a skill he had perfected in his solitude and one that remained beyond the taint of even the so-called strongest. He had seen a break beyond the clouds- that unceasing pull towards a light that, while dim, had never waned. He had never been able to pinpoint exactly which vision it was that finally began to break his poisoned romance with the darkness but the more the sentiment took hold, the quicker he'd spiraled towards that light and such was how the real torment began.

A lifetime of evasion, of evading everything pure in favor of servitude, of being a slave to primeval forces had been unable to deter his inevitable return. But there was a hefty price to pay for no matter which side of the Force one was on, dealing in absolutes was destructive and it was a lesson one could only but hope to learn after a lifetime of devastation. For years he had seen variations of the same story but they grew clearer as did the acquiescence to his own demise at the hands of one whose existence had been a marvel to him and his master. But the visions had come before the boy who suffered his innocence to be torn in the midst of battle. He had been right. He had been right...

A family came before his eyes that was not his own- a family he had, unknowingly, helped create. They were a unit poised to be torn apart by the eternal struggle between the darkness and the light but new powers would surface, long after he was gone, powers that, if not contained, would plunge the galaxy into another fever of sufferance. This time, he feared the sufferance would not end with him or with them or any cloaked creature pulling strings from behind the curtain of the shadows. Truly, the battle stood to outlast them all. He had foreseen it.

It was then he felt a pull from within. This was not an offensive or intrusive sort of pull, rather a beckoning from the recesses of his soul he'd long since shunned. Curious, he'd ventured into his own wasteland, barren save for the tombs of those he'd butchered, along with their memories. Upon the ill-trodden path of his destiny he stumbled upon the vision. It was curious for he had never sought the vision out; it had always found him at the most insignificant (or so he'd deemed) moments, and it came in the form of a child. He was hard put to tell whether the shifting orphan was a girl or a boy but the silhouette of the darkness was unmistakeable. It was the same venom he had become custodian of yet stronger, with its deadly potential to grow making it all the more remarkable. The child's eyes came alight with awareness as they scrutinized him and he felt himself small- he, a grown man and master of the dark-

The cold was his mind playing tricks but he had played along and let the vision continue to set the scene. Suddenly, a convoluted wind broke around them, rustling his robes until they cast a shadow even in that wax light only to settle between him and the child. Reluctant to take his eyes off the figure, he slowly peered down and was taken aback at the darkness shaping itself on the surface beneath their feet. He watched it move as one watches a slow penetrating evil, powerless to stop it, and as the shadow took to its lines there was no denying the image the one he'd served for so long, the one he'd chained the remnants of his soul to. The putrid whites of his marred face, eyes swallowed and safe beneath the blackness of his hood, his smile the very manifestation of greed and a power-lust that had driven an entire galaxy into chaos and war... But enough.

He took the vision and submerged it into his infernal depths as he had done with all the rest but a new commitment had won him over in the end and he strove to end his days by denying that ghoulish smile its purpose. He knew now that his salvation would come long after his demise- a victory he would not deny his son when the time came. But a final battle was inevitable, if only to perpetuate the secrets in the hope that the future generation would be stronger and more capable of mastering the Force. For him, it was too late. He felt something he'd not felt since... _Fear._ Fear for the future of a family that had been torn from him because of that devil-grimace. He saw a grandson too easily corrupted by darkness. Corrupted, perhaps, but closer to salvation than he himself would ever be from that point on. He saw his daughter weeping to the stars and the light of hope she could never fully abandon even in her violent despair. He saw a great battle in the bowels of an earthen core, fought by the future generation for the bracken souls they'd inherited from those who had mastered all except themselves.

That foul corpse's pallid smear had stolen the light from his family- he could see that now- and Vader vowed in the darkness to repay him in kind...


	4. Saturation Point

**A/N: This beast is taking on a life of its own and I'm about to let it.**

 **(IV) Saturation Point**

There was too much Vader in him...it was as simple as that.

The angel-faced oft have devils breeding inside them. It is an irrevocable destiny as unyielding as the flow of time. He'd taken a risk with Leia- but wasn't that the very essence of true love; the ultimate risk? The danger didn't lie in the love itself but in the seed they'd planted for the future. And he'd seen it, as early as the child's fourth summer, that propensity towards the darkness. Much as she denied it, so had she. He'd blamed himself for the child's wayward tendencies; after all, he was a rogue to the core and shied from communicative declarations whenever possible. Even the life and death speech had only come after the child had 'mistakenly' killed his pet, for the second time. This time he'd watched his son staring at the tiny corpse as if the first had been a fluke, the second an experiment. He knew better than to ask what had become of the creature callously, merely accepted it as it was and they sat watching twin moons in silence. The reverie was one they often engaged in but growing scarcer by the week. With so much needing to be said he still hadn't been able to formulate the sentences, fearing he'd do more damage than good. In truth, the offer to train with Luke couldn't have come a moment sooner. Thankfully Lando was with them, encouraging their decision to provide their child with the chance to explore this exceptional path.

Rightfully so, the separation from his parents had broken the child's heart, so much so that even Leia had had second doubts about the decision. But he'd made up his mind and, just as he'd prepared himself to give the boy a speech about life's pursuits and destiny and the like, he found his son standing under the moons, staring out in the great expanse on such a night as many they'd shared though this happened to be his last before their separation. The boy stood alone. Surprising, considering they'd always shared the moment. Pale light shone on the small creation, the fruit of his love with Leia, and Han knew in that moment that there was nothing greater to live for. His moment of clarity, which should have been met with the consolation only one's own kin can bring, rather faced a stark silence and the feeling, _that feeling,_ came back once more...

"Hey Ben," he'd said in that awkwardly charismatic diminuendo only he was capable of delivering, closing his mouth immediately after, followed by a half smile that twisted just so that the scar on his chin became noticeable. The child stared into the night, stiff and full of pent-up emotion. _Just like your mother,_ he thought and instantly stiffened at the implications of the thought, now six summers in.

"Quiet night, huh?" Communication was not the forte of one who'd had a habit of breaking everything he touched and sometimes he cursed himself for ever trying. Next time he'd let the wookie take over. Yet the child said nothing. "So, ah... your mother and I are taking you to the halfway point in the morning." Silence again. The echo of the night became almost deafening in the interlude. Finally Ben turned around, his face stripped of any emotion- a chilling visage of a child who seemed to have aged throughout the day.

"What are you going to do, dad?" he asked with such a monotonous tone he may as well have been tranquilized. It was enough to chill Han's bones.

"What do you mean?" he'd asked, unable to make sense of the question.

"When I'm gone. Mom says I'll be away for a long time... What are you going to do, dad, when I'm gone? Will I see you again?" That had been enough to break his heart and wordlessly he took his son into his arms. Upon releasing him from the hug he faced his boy with that same quirky smile, patting the child's raven hair down, enough so that he finally got a smile from the kid. They stayed that way for a while, sharing their half smiles until the cold of night set in and they went back indoors, hearts lighter than they had been. And where was Leia? Likely still catching up with Lando.

Just as they parted ways, Ben to his room and he in search of his wife and guest, Ben spoke from the doorway of his room.

"Dad."

"Yeah, Benny."

"I didn't... I didn't mean to do that to Unlce Lando. We were playing and... and...I love my present. Goodnight, dad."

Han stared after his son as the child crawled into his bed. When the boy finally retired Han listened for voices but the house seemed devoid of anything but whispers. He walked until he was almost out of the kitchen when his boot skid on something slippery. The light was too dim for him to tell but he figured he'd managed to smear the stain onto the floor and Leia would definitely have his head for not cleaning up. He knelt down as if to wipe the stain but his hand stalled mid-air. The closer he leaned the redder the stain became. Then, what had started out as a singular patch became a trail of droplets. He followed them, out of the kitchen and through the next room, his panic increasing with each step. One full panic-stricken minute later he found the end of the crimson trail along with his wife and best friend, the former tenderly placing a healing salve on the latter's marred face as he continued to bleed onto the carpeting. Leia turned to him as soon as he entered the room, her face stricken with a foreboding worry he'd not seen since the carbonite... Lando had tried to laugh the incident off as child's play gone wrong but his carved face told a different story. As he looked into his wife's eyes she began to tear up and he knew that she had finally accepted sending Ben to train as the best hope for a future away from the darkness.

There was too much Vader in him...it was as simple as that.


	5. Identity

**A/N: There's a strong possibility I'm writing myself into a corner. Nevertheless.. we tru** **dge onwards.** **Eve** **n if you've understood where I'm going with this, I humbly request you don't spoil it for others by pointing out the (semi)obvious. Otherwise, your interest and reviews are greatly appreciated.**

 **(V) Identity**

"I'm not afraid," she said, huddled beneath a blanket shivering from the cold of her clothes saturated from the downpour. The fire helped but she hoped they didn't end up suffocating in that cave-lair before they'd had an actual conversation. She'd signaled to the others to stay in the Falcon and, depending on how their communication went, they might end up leaving her there indefinitely.

Luke scoffed lightly despite himself. He recalled a scene with a brash youth sifting through unknown powers, unaware of his own capabilities and the reckless bravery his immaturity had afforded him a lifetime ago. How close he had been to the dark, how easily one was seduced by the poisoned side of the Force was a thought that haunted him still. He had been lucky.

"What is it you wish of me?" he asked handing a cup of something steamy and vile-looking to the girl. _Rey. Yes, that was her name._ She thanked him quietly as he too sat down, poking and prodding at the fire and decidedly not looking at the girl. When she didn't answer he became confused by her own silent confusion. What did _she_ wish of _him_? She started and stopped a few times before finally committing herself to words.

"The lightsaber, _your_ saber, Master Skywalker, called to me. I had visions, terrible scenes the moment I touched it. I'm- I'm sorry- I probably shouldn't have done that but now-"

"It called to you," he interrupted, shifting some char aimlessly. "The Force called to you, as it once did to me. Only now have you chosen to answer it."

"But- but I don't know _why._ I'm nobody!" she began sputtering. "I didn't ask for any of this and now-" she choked back the lump in her throat as soon as her voice began to break. She hated being this emotional but she had never in her life had so much happen so quickly. Not since... "What am I meant do now, Master Skywalker?"

"The Force has lead you here, of that we may be certain." His stoic responses meant nothing compared to the build-up of rage she was barely stifling. He was being so vague and evasive she felt she'd gotten more information out of that monster Kylo Ren. Apparently sensing her growing vexation Luke said, "You must learn to be more guarded with your feelings. There are those who would seek to use them against you." He paused and turned to look at her, her eyes shining so brightly she dared not blink for fear of what might fall. "The Force is strong with you, young Rey. You must be mindful of it." The fire crackled but it wasn't producing nearly enough heat to overpower the chill of the turn the conversation was taking. "Mindful... It... it surrounds us, binds us..." At that even he had to lower his gaze further.

"Master Skywalker?" she said but understood that he'd need more coaxing. "The First Order is after me. After _us._ The Resistance needs you now more than ever. Please don't turn your back on them. You owe me nothing, I know. If you turn me away I'll find my own way through this, somehow. It wouldn't be the first time..." She reminded him so much of Ben; tough on the outside, naïve and ready to face any opposition irregardless of the sacrifice. They were both too young to comprehend the consequences of their blind devotions. If only she knew what she was asking.

"My days of training Jedi are over," he said, continuing, "I will not train you. And I will not endanger the entire Resistance by playing into the First Order's hands." That was that. The moment he turned quiet again she knew there would be no more prying his mouth open. Rey tossed her cover aside and prepared to leave. Storm or no, she would signal to the Falcon and leave the old hermit to wallow in self-guilt. She was almost in the clear when the brazen crash of thunder set off in her a personal storm which mirrored the one enveloping the world outside.

Furious past the point of caring whether or not she offended the desolate creature he'd turned into, she stood and stared down at him with every layer of disgust imaginable etched on her face. But she'd have her say. "All my life," Rey began, "I've carried those stories and dreamed as if I'd been up there in the sky, fighting side by side with the Alliance against the darkness. I see now that my dreams were more dear to me than the reality was for you." He stiffened ever so slightly, enough to suggest that he was listening though he remained expressionless. Further enraged, she continued, "Every legend I've heard- every battle won and lost... You're not Luke Skywalker. Han was wrong- none of it was true," she snarled, "They were just stories." Once more, silence. Tight-lipped, she nodded her head slowly and said, "So be it _...Jedi."_

As quick as the flashing lightening Luke's lightsaber was in his hand and at her throat. His breath was raspy and they were suddenly just a hair apart. She dared not move though the heat of the saber would tear through her jugular soon enough, even as he feverishly searched her eyes. And there it was, the electrifying chill of a grimace in the darkness, the missing piece of the puzzle he couldn't have completed without her. The sound of their heavy breathing could no longer be heard over the thunder rumbling in the distance. Neither one moved a muscle yet despite the raucous of nature's forces it was as if they both heard the malicious laughter dancing around the cave, just somewhere beyond death's horizon.


	6. Masters and Slaves

**A/N: The plot thickens...**

 **(VI) Masters and Sla** **ves**

Kylo Ren had had it with the world, the system- the entire hellbent galaxy, in fact. He had become increasingly devoted to his fury and the years since his initial descent to the dark side had not delivered the fulfillment he had been promised, had slain in the name of. Undoubtedly, he was at the lowest point in his career and the need to take control was once again being overpowered by his unbridled rage whom he was more than willing to direct at anyone- and that included Snoke.

What did these fools take him for? Young he may have been, reactionary, too, at the best of times, but Kylo Ren couldn't have been farther from ignorant to the fact that everyone was trying to use him to fulfill one greedy ambition or another; just as they had been doing since the day his family abandoned him to his uncle's ancient devices. That was the day his life had begun to spiral out of control but his innocence was gone and there was nothing to be done for it. He had cut his strings from any would-be puppet-master long since. There was a reason he was master of the Knights of Ren.

His uncle was a deluded, nonsensical crone who refused to see the world for what it had become. Luke Skywalker would never be anything but a slave to the Force and Ren refused to be bound up like a cowering novice when there lay at his fingertips, waiting to be seized, the golden opportunity to become a master of the Force rather than its hungry beggar. The Jedi had not shared his views. But the discord truly took hold when he happened upon his uncle once, speaking to ghosts in the darkness like a madman. Then still Ben Solo, he had heard his name being spoken and was about to reveal himself from his hiding spot when he realized that Luke was speaking to another Ben. It occurred to him after several moments of addled introspection that the only person his obviously senile kinsman could be talking about was Ben Kenobi- the Jedi master whom he had been named after. And what did it matter? Ben continued to watch his uncle, hidden by the silhouettes of the trees, and no extraordinary view was afforded save that of a lunatic speaking at the night, questioning and answering the nothingness. He was about to leave when he caught the tail end of the "conversation".

"-he is too powerful to be left alone. I might have made a mistake in accepting to train him." Silence. So his uncle feared him, even after all their years together. He should have known that his kin's cold demeanor stemmed from the fear that he, a younger, stronger Jedi would eventually usurp control. Luke, the so-called Jedi master was afraid. Just like his mother had been. Just like his father...

"-he's too much like my father. Leia knows it, Han's sensed it. That's why they sent him to me. He needs to master himself before he loses control...the dark side will try to seduce him. It will break him.

"-because I've seen it. Vader's blood flows through his veins. He must prove his humility and devotion to the light by facing this new evil, this _First Order_ they call themselves-

"-it's a risk I must take, Ben! He is mine now to sacrifice. It must be done or we forfeit the entire balance of the Force."

He had made a silent but hasty departure the moment it rang clear he had been lead to the slaughter all along. That was how the descent had started, how the words had festered in his heart, how the obsession with his grandfather- whose ultimate failure had come at the end when he allowed himself to be overpowered- had begun... He had never blamed Vader. The more he pieced the story together the more apparent it became that it had finally dawned on his grandfather the same way it had dawned on him: they were being used. Ben Solo, just like Anakin Skywalker, had been used and the thought inflamed him beyond words. So Kylo Ren swore to himself that day to never be counted among the weak and to find the strength to fight until his last breath to finish what his grandfather started; the ultimate battle and the one only those who were bound to the Force could ever understand: the battle for freedom.

And he wanted her. Ardently. Desperately and unrelentingly. The girl whose existence he had cursed was a very gift from the Force itself. She was the missing piece to the puzzle of how he would come undone from Snoke's iron grip. To face the task alone would guarantee failure for, no matter how strong one was with the Force, fortune would always find a way to abandon the strong at the final hour and Ren was but one man who would be crushed under the weight of opposition- and Snoke's opposition would be ferocious. Tradition also dictated that there be two: a master and an apprentice. He had found his second. Soon the time would come to put an end to the Knights of Ren, as well. They had bloodied the galaxy together, carried the pillars of the First Order to such heights as they'd not dreamed would be reached by some one-off cult of the broken Empire, and slaughtered enemies in Snoke's name with such blind recklessness that concepts such as _light_ and _dark_ had become arbitrary ideologies thrown around by old wizards who knew nothing but to use the young for their own selfish gains. His knights lacked the strength and character to go beyond Snoke or the Order. They were butchers, ruthless mercenaries with gripes stemming from every part of the galaxy. But they would have to be destroyed ere they became the cause of his own ruin. His disciple would do the deed. It would be her final test and would cement her undoubted devotion to him. They would become an unstoppable force and maybe finally, just finally he could regain his peace of mind from the madness of the past. He would change his name and bequeath her a new one. They would never be slaves again.

"There are things you are not telling me about this girl. This _Rey,"_ Ren said through the low-tuned echo of his mask. The chrome gleaned from the florescent lighting in his personal ship enough so that Lando's blood-sweat reflected back at the hell-knight who paced around the tied down captor like a panther whose blood was laced with venom. He knew it would not take much longer to break Calrissian. The problem lay in the chance that his prisoner might not have anything of value to offer or serve any practical purpose in his quest to find the girl, in which case he would have to be taken care of, just like... He would not think of that now. None of them could have understood the purpose behind his actions- not even Snoke. In fact, he'd been betting on it.

Lando coughed and a chill ran down his back. Being mentally tortured by a monster who wielded the dark blade of the Force like it was his personal toy blaster was worse then being thrown into a Sarlacc pit, any given day of the week. "Why do you wanna know about the girl, huh? You gonna kill her, too? She hasn't done anything to ya."

"Leave my intentions to me. I have seen into her past- the past _you_ have had a hand in. What is your involvement with the girl?" Ren asked, still circling his prisoner slowly, now one arm stretched out as if to invisibly pluck the information from his uncle's tortured mind.

"Still got that mask I gave ya? Must be a collector's item for you no- aaaah!" Lando groaned in pain and his body contorted as much as the restraints would allow.

"I told you," he moaned, spasms shifting him irregularly to the right and left, "I don't know who she is-aaah! or _what_ she even is-" Ren ignored the screaming. He had not been the one insisting on making the process difficult and now his vexation was on the rise. His words became choppy and even though it was hidden by his mask, he knew his jaw to be clenching tighter and tighter until he had to force the words to come out.

"Then _why_ take the child and abandon her on Jakku? Someone knew she was a threat to the Force. Someone _knew_ how powerful this child would become. _Who_ put you up to this Calrissian?" his mask was in Lando's face. He didn't want to break the man before he got his answers but the risk was becoming very real.

Finally, through strained breath, the man answered despairingly, "Your...your grandfather. _Va- Vader..."_ and slipped into the darkness, utterly debilitated by the torture. Ren watched his eyes roll back as he slipped into a semi-comatose state. He had not budged, with his hands on either side of Calrissian's strapped arms and his mask not far from his captor's face. In a moment, Ren turned and left the room in favor of the solitude of his black room- the place where he kept his prized collections safe and where he could think above all else. Tomorrow he would pluck out the rest of the information from Calrissian and would burn the entire system down to find the one who would become his disciple, if necessary. He sat down and unlatched his mask. The air in the room always had a certain taint to it when he drew his first breath sans filtration. He laced his fingers together and rested his lower face against his hands, eyes transfixed upon the gnarled remnant of his grandfather's guise. He delved into the meaning behind mysteries old and new, deceptions that were a part of his history and how they had helped shape the psyche of the confused man who now sat questioning the past, still unanswered, still alone. Images came flooding back to him of a fading light and a hand caressing his face before that, too, was enveloped by the darkness.

But one thing he knew and it was the only thing he could never make his obstinate uncle or emotional mother understand, if ever he could have the chance, was that it wasn't his father he had killed on that bridge but the last of his hope for redemption, the last ray of light seeking him out in the darkness, for which he would someday pay a very dear price. Kylo Ren sighed but never broke his gaze with the helmet for that was the way of things. For once, it was not towards his grandfather that his thoughts bent.

 _Someday I will join you, father. I will fall at your feet and beg your forgiveness. Now... I must finish what has already begun._ _For honor. For our family._


	7. Blood

**(VII) Blo** **od**

He should have cut her down then and there but there was no mistaking the terror in Rey's eyes nor the innocent confusion that lay just behind them. But for all her internal chaos Luke had heard the words and he was no longer at odds with himself about the girl. She had to be dealt with, one way or another. Quickly.

Rey didn't dare move but her eyes darted back and forth between the Jedi and the lightsaber at her neck. The last words she had spoken which had brought them to that stance had come from within, as if they belonged to someone else- someone whose existence she'd been unaware of and one whose void-like darkness emptied her very light and defecated on her once-untainted spirit. The verbal discharge had been akin to vomit; unstoppable once it reached the mouth and its trajectory certain. The Force was not the only thing to have awakened within her and she would never again possess the pureness she'd been defined by on Jakku. Rey was now caught between the whispers of the past and they spoke of things she couldn't make sense of. One glance at Luke, one longing glance begging for sense and she knew that what monster crawled beneath her surface had revealed itself to him. That had been its intention all along.

When her neck began to burn from the proximity of the saber Luke finally saw it fit to return it to its sleeping position though he would keep it close at hand henceforth. He motioned for the girl, who now breathed a bit more easily, to be seated, never taking his eyes off her or any of her other choice nuances. They were at an impasse.

"I-" she began and was immediately silenced by his burning scrutiy. The storm had picked up and every pang, every assault on their shelter made her jump. Her nerves were officially shattered but she made every effort to keep it together if only for the sake of not giving the Jedi a reason to kill her. The cry of the wind mimicked her own desperation and she shivered again.

Suddenly, rey burst out, "What's happening to me?!" and stifled her sob though her eyes gave everything away.

Luke rearranged the char in the fire. He hadn't felt such a burden on his shoulder since his self-imposed exile. "The Force is strong with you, Rey," he began calmly. "Too strong. I've only ever seen one who could match it and you stand to surpass him." Rey cast her eyes down, her emotions mounting and beginning to spiral out of control.

"No- no! It can't be! _Darth Vader_? How can I possibly be related to that monster?!" And in that moment, Luke wished she had been right. His all-too disturbing conclusions were wreaking havoc in his brain and the more they raged, the more he wished he could count the girl as part of his kin. But there was no undoing blood and she would forever be bound to what ran within her veins.

"No," he spoke, "not Vader. "You're not from our line." He chose his next thoughts very carefully, indeed, for they were treading broken ground. "Those words you spoke; I've heard them before. Tell me what came to you as you said them."

"It-it was too sudden-"

" _What_ did you see, child?!"

"I saw a smile- a hideous smile..." she blurted. "I heard something laughing and felt it, him, take over. I didn't mean to say that! But that mouth- it's like it was my own! He spoke and I spoke and...and... _What's happening to me?_ " she broke down at last. Luke couldn't bear to look at her. He turned back to the fire, desperate and saddened by the turn of events.

"You must learn to control your feelings now. They will come for you."

"They?" she asked between her choked cries.

"All of them. They will seek to control you. To use you. You must learn to master the Force before he bends you from the inside. What is done cannot be undone. We can only hope to contain it before your power breaks us all." He folded his hands and the reflection of the flames danced in his eyes.

Rey sniffled and asked somberly, "Are you going to- to kill me?"

"No," Luke answered and, after a long pause, "I am going to train you."

"But I thought you said-"

"Nothing else matters now," he interrupted. "You're too dangerous. I had thought you bore some relation to my old master, Obi-Wan... His power was tremendous. But it was nothing in comparison. You carry something far more sinister and unless you wish to be corrupted by the dark side you must entrust me with your training."

She jumped up to and her reaction was a final desperate plea for answers. "I- But you _must_ tell me! Master Skywalker if I'm sort sort of monster- I _must_ know what I'm up against! If I'm not of your line who could I possibly-?..." Her voice trailed off and Rey slowly descended to the ground and wrapped her arms around her tucked legs. She stared into space but saw nothing of her surroundings for the visions shot past her, faster than light and broken like the spews of blasters. But the answers were there. Luke watched her searching herself, amateurishly tapping into her new powers and the chips falling into place one by one.

She could only recall that she'd heard his name spoken in the murky twilight of her youth, by strangers and faceless passersby, but she couldn't remember the name itself. He was a disfigured wielder of the blackened art, a wizard who had trespassed into the Force and stained it with his unceasing bloodlust. He had been a puppeteer of millions... Used his training and powers to kill so that he, too, might one day become a master of death. But it was his insatiable lust for power that drove him to such heights, driving him to commandeer an empire. He was a chimera surrounded by the cryptic forces of things she dared not name, things that never dared lurk within the light. He was her blood and she had been bred for the sole purpose of carrying it.

"It's not possible..." she whispered.

Luke buried his emotions. It was better she found her way to the truth for acceptance would come more naturally. "He hid you beneath the veil of our prophecies. _Your grandfather_. "

"You...You've faced him before," she said in quiet affirmation.

"I have," Luke confirmed grimly. "It was my father who killed him."


	8. Deception

**(VIII) Dec** **eption**

Nothing about the fire was calming to her. Even its warmth seemed to have dissipated until it felt to Rey that she was watching a neutral red-orange animal whose tendrils danced about uninterruptedly in front of her. She had curled up in front of it for some companionship but the loneliness of her fate made any coherent thought unattainable, even with the Jedi in the room.

"Your training will begin at first light," Luke began. "There is one of the Order who will not stop until he has you within his grasp. I fear I've been blind to his true purpose. Even now it evades me but there is a greater ambition at work here..." He had picked up the habit of tugging at his beard, much as Obi-Wan had, finding the action to be a calming mechanism for the aging man he had become in the blink of an eye.

Rey stared at the fire, torn by the need to bare her thoughts in their entirety to her new lifeline and the need to delve so far into herself that she irrevocably destructed from within. A crackle of the burning wood brought her back from the descent and she found herself divulging her thoughts semi-symbiotically, half-hearing herself speak, otherwise drifting along a tepid ocean devoid of life and function.

"I know who it is you speak of, Master Skywalker," she said, leaning towards the fire. "His voice comes to me in the darkness." Luke wanted to ask how that was possible but lent an ear to the girl's outward stream of consciousness.

"In my deepest thoughts I hear his whispers." She paused and reached out to play her hand over the fire. Luke watched her twist her right hand through slowly, over and under, in and around, bending it this way and that without a thought as to the extreme heat which, by all rights, should have consumed her skin. Curious.

"You have already formed a connection," he concluded. "He has begun to turn you."

"No," Rey retorted sharply, pulling her hand out of the fire to swerve around from her perch and face him. "No. He is not what you think. He... he _fears_ me. Fears what I'll become. I believe he wants to turn me away from the fate he's facing." She paused to make certain she phrased her next sentiment correctly. "And he fears himself- that he'll never have the strength to follow through. His passion drives him."

"I don't believe him to be as altruistic as you say, child. Ben is of my line. He _was..._ Kylo Ren is a corrupt creature enslaved by the deceptions that bent his path. He will employ the same methods to turn you to him." He paused. "I cannot allow myself to hope otherwise." Luke looked at her with more genuine concern than he had shown since her arrival and the succeeding events. "You must adopt the same attitude. We cannot afford to risk this connection. You must endeavor to sever your tie with him before it takes hold or our efforts are lost."

"He will never loosen his grip," she replied. "He believes that we will be the ones to bring balance to the Force. Together."

Unspoken, they understood in that moment that Kylo Ren's determination would inevitably lead him to their door, wherever that door may be. He could never be deterred from his prize and Luke's final campaign could only be to prepare the girl for the confrontation. She would have to kill the boy for there was no redemption in him that was discernible. Luke had seen just how far Ben Solo's path had swayed from the light and he was now the head of a snake whose coils were on the verge of crushing the known galaxy. He would not risk the loss of Rey, this new hope; not for the salvation of his murderous nephew, not for the devotion of a much-beloved sister. Ben had chosen his stance and they would retaliate in turn.

Luke's thoughts returned to the only time he had sensed the last glimmer of light in a soul which had contorted beyond comprehension. He had never given up on his father and his instinct had served him well in their final confrontation. But Luke was, at the very least, wary of Rey's adolescent instincts and unprepared to adopt them as their premise for rebuttal. She was not yet strong enough to sift through and distinguish between the lies and machinations. He wondered when the obsession with power and the fixation on immortality would finally curdle, that it may be stamped out enough for the people to be at peace. As the last of the Jedi order his philosophy dictated that he accept the undying presence of evil. Good and evil were inextricable forces forever bound to one another beyond their petty squabbles and it would outlast them all. But they would find a way to turn the tide in good's favor for evil had claimed enough of their lives, enough of their lands and Luke was a soldier of the light. It was his fate.

"You must break the bond, Rey."

She heard him, even above the echo of crude laughter still wafting across her ocean. She feared the bond forged could never be undone but she wouldn't trouble her teacher with that until she was assured of its nature. There was more light in Kylo Ren than Luke could understand and it was not in her power to convince him as such so she would have to bury her thoughts deep and even deeper than that... Even from him.

"Take rest, child," Luke finally said, standing to show her to her new quarters.

"I have more questions. About... about _him._ "

"We begin your training in the morning. We will seek out answers, together. Now we must rest."

Though he would have much liked to see his old friends, Luke bid Rey send a message for the crew to take their leave. He would contact the Resistance and Leia when the time was right. So it was with a heavier heart than the one she came with that Rey retired to her new chamber, in what would be her home for the foreseeable future, and the nightmares battered at her mind for many nights to come thereafter.

They stood between towering trees casting monstrous shadows under the pallor of some forgotten moon. No stars plagued the night sky and the darkness overpowered the light so much so that her eyes strained to differentiate between the silhouettes. Several meters lay between them and not a breath of air disturbed the death-like calm of the wood, nor did it stir the rustle of a single leaf. But she could hear his placid breathing almost as if it were whistling past the hairs on her neck and the rush of his presence was as prominent as it had been at their first meeting. She feared she would never keep her pulse at bay so long as he was in proximity. And that was always.

"I know what it is you fear," he said smoothly but his voice was devoid of aggression.

"And I know yours." The dialog was smooth and flowed just as easily, like whispers in a wind that had forsaken them, each word dancing off of the one preceding it.

"You know only what I've shown you. You begin, now, to understand the scope of the deceptions we've been born into."

"Why did you bring me here, Ren?" The silence of the forest was deafening. He walked towards her slowly and the only sound to be heard was the brush of his robes against his legs for the ground beneath them was mossy and gave nothing away. They stood facing one another but a few feet apart and it seemed to Rey that she could see the light of the moon reflecting warily in his eyes, almost afraid that if it gave too much of itself he would swallow it whole and leave them both snuffed out under the deadwood's canopy.

"You brought _me_ here," he answered calmly. They studied each other in that frozen vision, a world they had unknowingly created for their own particular interaction, far from the blasts and the grimaces of death and the wiles of the Force, and Rey felt for the first time that she knew more about him than he about her. But they were far removed from fear, here in the deadwood where even their emotions seemed to be a lifeless crevice carved into the scenery, and they studied each others' energy like some sort of _danse_ _macabre_ between specimens on the cusp of martyrdom.

"Is this a dream?"

"No," he said softly, breaking his stare and sitting by the base of a tree trunk. "Certainly not my idea, anyway," he added and she almost caught herself smiling at the snake.

"Come. Sit." His voice still bore his particular air of command and she would have defied him but it seemed to her that they were not in a place where either could come to harm. Moreover, there did not appear to be such intent. She sat by the other side of the trunk and both their backs were propped up against it while they were almost side by side.

"I take it this was preferable to Jakku?"

"I-"

"You have an unnatural interest fascination with trees."

"Everything about this is unnatural," she admitted quietly and for a few moments they regained the silence.

"You have chosen to train with the Jedi," he said, staring at the moon and not taking any particular pleasure in the sight. "As I mentioned before: he will disappoint you."

"I did not choose this. You chose this path for all of us."

"Perhaps I've done you a favor. The time will come when you will see behind their masks. I am the only one who has had the strength to show both faces."

"There are more faces you're hiding."

"You hate me for the things I've done but you've given yourself up freely to the puppet-masters. My grandfather had a vision- a vision I will see to its end. _I_ do not hide," he added at the end, suggesting she challenge him on that point.

"I see you, Kylo Ren. You do not know what that end is. Or maybe you refuse to see it for what it is."

He scoffed lightly at that. "You will help me unravel the mysteries. I did not ask for this connection any more than you asked for this vision. But it is ours to share," he said and she could not counter the truth of his declaration. "You will come to me in the end."

"No, Kylo Ren. _You_ will come to _me_ in the end."

He chuckled softly and once again she was thrown by the lack of malice in his tone. They had guided each other through the vision and were come to its epilogue at last. She reviled at the undeniable notion that it had been the most calming respite from her nightmares in weeks and she was dejected at its loss.

"We will see." A diminuendo took Ren's last words with it as the vision of two young slaves sitting beneath the curtain of the deadwood faded.


	9. Strength

**A/N: I apologize for the delay. I have made do with all I could from the trailer so that I don't stray too far from the story (however it's going to turn out). Now, we wait.**

 **(IX) Strength**

He came to her in passing visions, always cloaked beneath the shadow. They would speak in a broken melee of ultimatums and half-promises of blood and fire. The setting never changed. The dim solitude of the forest became the nexus of a world they had created for themselves within the shared dream and it was all Rey could do to mask her feelings from her new master. There was no telling whether or not Luke could sense the deepening of the connection his padawan was forging with the enemy and she dared not look him in the eyes when she felt the presence encroaching. Rey did her utmost to be mindful of her training but she could feel her power growing… and the fear it instilled within Luke. There was no turning back now.

Her body ached with the pain of newfound physical strength but it was a road she was hard-pressed to travel. The training was so strenuous on both mind and body that her nightly dalliances into the shadowland with Ren were becoming a source of comfort. She was beginning to feel the tendrils of reciprocation and the feeling was frightening, though not unwelcome. Rey told herself that she ventured into their verbal foray in the hope of gaining more information; _Something inside me…has always been there…I need help._ She had uttered the words to her master but it was clear that he, too, was caught within a murky web of confusion.

They had broken all communication with the outside but Rey had begun to comprehend the significance of the phrase 'search your feelings' which her master made a habit of drumming into her every chance he got. The hours spent away from the lightsaber she now weilded were devoted to meditation, to expanding her feelings as far as they would carry and it was within her heart that she collected the pieces of happenings beyond their uncaged fortress. At times she would catch glimpses of the battles to come, not only her own but of her friends, the Resistence… There were moments she could almost hear the humming of the X-Wings beyond the horizon and smell the blood of the fallen as skirmishes raged on. She would join them soon. It was time to pick up the saber once more.

Luke had it in mind to push her to her limit that day and her body was beginning to fail her from exhaustion.

"Focus!" he barked, "Face your strength! We must know it if we're to tame it!"

Rey yelled in agony as she swung the saber in the confines of the movements she had been taught, faster and faster until the buzzing of the sword became a seamless noise drowning out Luke's commands. Steadily her heartbeat quickened. The enemy was nowhere and he was everywhere. Everything around her became engulfed in the light of pale blue until she could hear nothing of the world and her motions took on a power of their own. Faster she swung, all calculated in her frenzy though she could no longer see. Buzzing and humming the saber screamed a song of torment and all her senses united to follow the tune. Then, as if a tidal wave had consumed her, the crushing presence of a voice she'd never heard broke through the one-note hypnosis, come to claim her from the darkness.

"When I found you…" it began and she moved violently, blindly against the voice, "I saw war! Untamed power. And beyond that…something _truly_ special… Fulfill your _destiny!_ "

As quickly as the terror subsided Rey collapsed, barely able to breathe, clutching at her chest and soaked as if she had dived into the very ocean. Wheezing and coughing for life the buzzing in her ears began to fade and it was only then she could hear that her master had been speaking: "…didn't scare me enough then. It does now."

Rey composed herself as best she could, grabbing at the rocks to steady her resolve, but there was nothing to do about the horror-sticken look on Luke's face. He could barely bring himself to look at her after what he had just witnessed. This was not the time for questions. Training was over for the day.

The past was a dangerous fixation. It held power over the present, over all their dealings and even held grip on the hidden future. When Luke was certain that Rey had retired he sat staring into the fire long enough until he knew he was not alone. A rare occurance was taking place but he had sought the guidance with every fiber of his being. The past had answered.

"Your story is not ended Luke."

"I thought I could change things. Foolishly, I thought I _had_ changed things. When will the cycle of evil end, Obi-Wan?"

"That is not for us to decide," said the figure, diplomatically. "Killing Vader and redeeming him was your trial but there were other trials started long before you came into this world."

"I'm ready to listen once more," Luke said but the ghost of Obi-Wan seemed undecided as to whether or not it would help to divulge further information. "Obi-Wan," Luke urged his silent mentor, "I _need_ to know. The time for secrets is passed."

Obi-Wan's spectre stroked his beard thoughtfully, as it had done in life. "The Sith, as they were, took their time in cultivating their plan. Long before your mother and father crossed paths, Padmé or, Queen Amidala as she was, held a great bond with the man who would become Emperor. They were allies, or so we thought."

"She couldn't have known what he was."

"Certainly. We were all blinded to the truth that was Darth Sidious. His beginnings are ambiguous even now but of one thing we may be certain: He was a native of Naboo, same as your mother." Obi-Wan paused staring away into a distance only he could see while Luke resumed his focus on the fire.

"They held confidence for many years," he continued, "and often I am glad for her that she did not survive to suffer his betrayals further. The loss of your father claimed her life."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Not much, perhaps, except to assure you that your feelings will carry you to the truth. The Emperor was not always the hideous figure you fought. Not in appearance, at least. It is not impossible to concieve that he sired offspring."

"Not impossible…" Luke repeated in a whisper. "The fates of our families have been intertwined from the beginning. Is that what you're saying?"

"I am saying that Ren may have sensed this connection. Be mindful of the girl, Luke. We may not have seen the full extent of her power. He will come for her."

Luke nodded into the fire. The cycle remained unbroken.

Ren had become accustomed to destroying anything in his path once his anger piqued and today was no exception. It was becoming increasingly difficult to focus on his mission with the strengthening of his connection to the girl and his existing bond with Snoke. When he felt the blending of his worlds he lost no time in rallying his territorial instincts and was at once engulfed in unbridled rage that his so-called master would attempt to claim what did not belong to him. He severed the connection as best he could without giving away his presence but it was a dangerous game he was playing. To lose Snoke's trust was to forfeit everything he had planned. When Ren had tortured almost everything in the room he retired to his chamber for solitude and the peace of mind he had forsaken long ago. His dealings with the girl were shedding their formality and more often than not he was seeking her companionship in this world they frequently inhabited. Closing his eyes, he bent his mind towards their secluded spot until he could make out a lonely figure sitting against a tree.

"Your training today had an unwelcome intruder."

"What do you know about my training? Are you set on torturing me during the day now, too?" If he had not sensed Rey's inner turmoil she made it apparent with her curt remark.

"I thought you were beginning to understand that I am not your enemy."

"You are everyone's enemy Ren," she huffed, angry with all that had transpired. The more he evaded a snarky retort the angrier she became. "We might sit here for days and it wouldn't change the monster you are."

"But _you_ might," Ren said calmly and Rey was so taken aback that her attitude failed her. It was a strange sort of admission he had made and she was uncertain as to what he had even admitted to but could feel her pulse quicken.

"I do not deny the things I have done. You would have made the same choices had you walked the path I have."

"Never," she responded quickly but he was just as fast to continue.

"Do not deal in absolutes. It is an outdated custom. In any case, it's pointless to argue since our paths have finally crossed. My gift of foresight is not as strong as some but I can feel now that our destinies were meant to align. It is useless to fight it."

"You know nothing of me, Ren, let alone my destiny."

"I know your feelings grow, as mine do. I know you are coming to understand that we are strong together. That _together_ we can end the bloodshed. I know who it was that stole you in the night from a family you will never see again, only to be stranded on Jakku, like trash-"

"Stop it-"

"I know there is nothing for you to return to and that they will try to use you-"

"Stop-"

"That they fear you because of your power-"

"I said stop!-"

"Just as they do me," he finished sullenly.

Rey didn't know when the tears had started or when he had moved in close enough that she could feel his barbed words as if they were pressing against her skin. She wept for a past she could not claim and cursed Skywalker for unveiling her powers enough that she could tell there was no lie in Ren's words. Deep in her heart she had always known that no one would come to reclaim her on Jakku or anywhere else but to have her lowliness thrown in her face was more than she could bear. The fleeting moments of belonging she had only recently experienced had all been shattered by the man standing in front of her, blocking the light as was his wont but there was something more to his fearsome presence now. There was an unguarded despair he was allowing her to drown in and Rey let the sadness was over her. He had robbed her of the will to hold on to anything. Instead, she saw an open hand extended before her, the only one that came with the promise of not letting go.

"I have hurt you and for that I am sorry. Rey… Let the past die. Kill it, if you have to. That's the only way to become what you were meant to be.

Between her choked throat Rey met his gaze and defiantly whispered, "I need someone to show me my place in all this."

"Darth Sidious' power flows through your veins. Take my hand. We will find a way out of the darkness. _Together."_


	10. She Had No Name

**A/N: I had to. So many theories out there now and I'm determinedly maintaining my Reylo stance. A review or two would be just grand, if you have the time. All the best, dear readers; looking forward to this movie already!**

 **(X) She Had No Name**

Too wrought with worry to sleep, the anxious little girl was jolted anew from the voices booming throughout the house. She had only been there a few weeks but instantly recognized the voice of the man who had brought her into the family's arms. She hated that voice. The family had been warm and welcoming to the child who was little more than six years old but it was neither the mother nor the father who had made her feel safe, made her feel like she was home. They boy, only slightly older, had immediately taken on the role of guardian. He was her protector in the shadow; watchful of every move she made and caring of every tear she cried. The connection was instantaneous.

His pitch-black hair was in extreme contrast to his face; a face too stern for a little boy to carry but not an unpleasant one to look upon when he was light of mood. He had been a lonely creature, prone to bouts of rage and tantrums that often ran the risk of turning into uglier affairs. Then she had arrived and it was as if the sun shone for the first time on both their worlds. Almost from the moment she arrived he took her by the hand and dazzled her with stories of his upcoming Jedi training, of space battles and fantastic creatures throughout the galaxy and beyond the stars. With him, she made short work of coming out of her shell. They would spend hours playing with fake lightsabers and though the girl spoke little she never laughed so much as when she bested him during their playfights. But happiness was to be short-lived. The girl felt in her heart that the man would come to take her away again and she would awaken in the middle of the night often, tormented by nightmares of running through a forest, cold and abandoned, searching for those who left her behind. She had gotten used to the boy staying by her side until she fell asleep and sometimes she would awaken from her nightmare to see him still slouched there by the foot of her bed, head drooping to the side and the whisper of his breath as he slept dreamlessly.

She had no name.

That night was different. That night, the voice she had dreaded hearing again brought with it a chaos that gripped her temporary family but she was too fearful to come out of the veil of the unlit corridor. She could smell blood and the bile rose in her little throat. Before she could investigate further she was whisked away to another corner of the house and the door was shut behind them.

Her counterpart huffed and puffed until he was finally done pacing and she could whisper, "What did you do?" in his general direction.

"I… I was just playing," the boy whispered back, staring at his feet. "I can't control it all the time. I keep hearing voices…" he mumbled sullenly, with the innocence only a child's self-pity can carry. His wallowing was forgotten when he noticed the worried look on his friend's face.

"I hear them, too," the girl replied. Then, her face fell and her tiny shoulders slumped.

"Why are you sad?"

"That man… He's come to take me away again."

"Don't be stupid," he shrugged off the comment. "I won't let him do that. You're going to stay with us, forever. We're your family now. Someday, I'm going to be the strongest Jedi in the galaxy and I'll protect you."

"You can't," she sniffed, "you're too small. Just like me."

"My grandfather was the greatest Jedi that ever lived- and I'm going to be better than him. I'm going to protect all of you."

When she started sniffling Ben felt his anger well up and grabbing her by the hand he said, "Let's go and listen. I'll prove he's not here for you."

Hand in hand the children stole through the corridor to the edge of the living room where they were all but invisible behind monstrous pieces of furniture and technical knick-knacks the boy's father kept hoarding. They watched and listened intently while the adults traded sighs. Fearful of discovery, neither moved a hair but their hands remained locked.

"That's fine, Leia, thanks." The voice was enough to spook the girl and she cowered ever so slightly.

"Yeah, stop fussing over this scoundrel. He's tougher than he looks," said Han, trying not to betray the anxiety in his voice.

"Always been tougher than you, ya old pirate," Lando said but the mood had already soured and there was no delaying what had to be done. "So, ah, tomorrow, after Han's left with Ben, I take the girl as planned."

Leia folded the cloth between her hands and implored Lando one last time. "Lando, must you? The house will be empty enough with Ben gone and the poor creature-… She doesn't even have a proper name-"

"It's impossible, Leia. I've heard too many prophecies from you people to not trust in this one. She's gotta be somewhere remote. Trouble's brewing again and you two always find a way of getting mixed up in it."

"I don't recall you being any better at turning the Alliance down," Han countered. Lando continued.

"We can't risk her staying here. Not that I'm hellbent on keeping promises to Vader- no offense, Leia- but Luke agrees this is the best course of action. Even he can't make sense of the girl. And…"

"There's an _and_?" Han asked.

"And we don't even know if Ben'll cut it as a Jedi-

"Hey wait a minute now-"

"Han look- I'm sorry, but you know I gotta be honest with you two," Lando replied and Han noticed the worry in Leia's downcast eyes. She would have defended her son to the bitter end but her silence was an affirmation of all of their worries. "What if it's too much for him, huh? And he wants to come back home? He might end up hurting-… Look, we gotta leave tomorrow."

"No!" Ben screamed, jumping back into the mix. The shocked adults stared at the furious child and Lando shifted his gaze from Han to Leia and back to Han. The girl had tried to stop him from betraying their location but Ben was stronger and tore from her grip as easily as if he'd ripped through tattered cloth. "I would never hurt her! You can't! Where's she going to go? She doesn't have anyone but us!"

"Benny…buddy-"

"No!" he yelled again and his childish frame shook with defenselessness. His angy tears were a fearsome sight even for one so small and he swat away any consolation his parents attempted. "Why are you sending her away?" he demanded and despite their attempts to reason with him, Ben Solo was hearing none of it. "I hate you!" he declared and the shouting carried on.

With each increased outburst the girl shrunk further into the fetal position and though he couldn't see her, Ben knew she was overcome with tears and shame for having been the source of such anger. Never had she felt more unwanted. Ben ran into the dark corner where the adults could finally make out a tiny balled-up figure and wrapped his arms around her. The sight alone was enough to break their hearts. "You made her cry! Stay away from us!" he yelled and quietly added, "Don't worry-I won't let them take you. I'm going to protect you. _Always._ "

A thick silence gripped the room. Han rested the lower part of his face within his palm and stared off into the distance. Leia fought back her own tears.

A few moments passed until Lando found what little nerve he had left to mumble, "I think we'd better take our leave now."

"Lando," cried Leia, "don't be ridiculous! You're still bleeding-"

"Lando, lemme talk to you for a minute," Han said and Leia grew concerned over the calm in his voice. After only a minute, she saw Lando nod his head in saddened approval and they were back. "Uh, Leia, honey…" Han sighed defeatedly. The only words Ben could distinguish among the whispers were _I'll be back in the morning_ and it was all he needed to hear before resuming his futile protest. The frail creature in his arms had drifted into a faint.

"I WON'T LET YOU! I HATE YOU!"

The rest was a blur. The house nearly broke apart from the tortured threats of a heartbroken child, the tears of a mother who desperately tried to console and restrain her son and two sad figures charged with the delivery of a nameless girl to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. The next day, Ben Solo was taken to begin his training as a Jedi Knight.

…..

 _Stay here. I'll come back, sweetheart. I promise._

"Did you hear that?" Ren asked and Kylo Ren lowered his hand. Though the girl had not taken it, she had not recoiled either and he was determined to prove that his feelings had been a faithful guide. Now connected to her thoughts of fleeting pictures and nightmares he could do little but kick himself for having taken so long to unearth the memories that his trainings had erased. He had been slow to make the connections in his own mind but his delayed pace in unraveling himself to the girl was intentional. Her fragile state and growing attachment to the force demanded an approach that was more diplomatic than sentimental- at first. They were past formalities now and he would bring to light whatever had been buried by time, by the dunes of waste they had committed her to so many years ago. His thoughts were polluted by guilt and she saw that even with his defiant nature he could not bear to look her in the eyes just then. He had heard the voice.

Then, for the first time since the conception of their hidden world, a gust of warm wind blew between them and Rey felt her form stiffen involuntarily. Clipped pangs of recollection aimed to claw their way to the surface but her defenses were in their most primal form now and her breathing grew rapid. Warily she inched away as he inched closer and it was the manner in which he approached that sent her into a whirlwind of panic.

"You still have the nightmares…" he began softly, trying not to upset her further. "The dark figure in the forest…"

" _You,_ " she spat, "how- how _could you!"_

"Rey… Please. I couldn't have known it was you. I would never-"

"Stay _out_ of my thoughts! What- how- What kind of monster are you?!" Her hands clutched around in the vain hope that a lightsaber would be nearby but she had forfeited her guard and as the returning memories froze her mind she felt herself caught between the arms of the one man she had so desperately wanted to kill. In a state of shock and blinded by her brain's inability to adeptly join the pieces of a shattered past she stood paralyzed in his arms. He held her even as her trembling shook them both.

Rey didn't blink. Her eyes glazed over and her breathing stabilized but her mind was a lifetime away. Her lifeless stare was trained on the images of a little boy named Ben holding onto her for dear life. Rey felt small again. A tiny and exhausted creature waiting to be carried away from loving safety to be thrown back into the sands of loneliness. But the monster she had feared was there holding her and it seemed as though, for just a moment, a boy and a girl stood embracing, determined this time to not let anything drive them apart. It was only when she heard his soft voice that Rey realized her arms enveloping him in kind, holding on even more fiercely than he was.

"Do you remember now?" he said, allowing himself to feel for the first time since… "They took you from me. I would have protected you. I would have protected all of us. But they feared what we would become and took you from me. You're the one I've been searching for. Rey- _Rey…_ Only our unity can save us now. I won't let them take you from me again."


	11. Descendants of the Force

**A/N: Hello all ye faithful! Several things to note before we continue:**

 **The whole thing's a spoiler. If you haven't seen The Last Jedi yet, I recommend doing so before reading further because I will be heavily integrating it into this story, as I have done with TFA. I like to work my fanfic that way.**

 **Secondly, have y'all been reading or what?! I didn't do too bad a job, eh? Perhaps I should become an amateur soothsayer. I'm not going to get into a discussion regarding the quality of TLJ as the entire world seems to be divided on the matter and the point remains I've done a decent job in my predictions (in my humble opinion) and we have no choice but to carry on with what we've got. I commend everyone who sensed Reylo coming from the beginning. It's happening.**

 **Lastly, kind comments are always appreciated. It's nice to know there are readers out there who appreciate the effort. Happy end of the year, Reylo-vers!**

 **(XI) Descendants of the Force**

Losing his first and only friend had been the beginning of the downward spiral of betrayals that was to consume Ben Solo. Being made to feel that he had been cast aside by his family only served to settle his character as a brooding child, a trait that helped make an outcast of him during his days in training. Weeks and months passed by doing nothing to turn the child's demeanor. Months of training blended into years of mental and physical molding. A tentative balance was being enjoyed by a galaxy that had seen too much of wars and empires. Then, an awakening.

It was under cover of darkness that the first inklings of contact were made. Whispers, gusts of tainted wind whipped past the threshold of his comprehension but were sharp enough to jar the boy out of sleep. For weeks the haunting would continue, ruining what little reverie he had had at night and bending his psyche towards unkown territory. If Luke had sensed anything he made no sign of it and Ben resolved to keep his terrors to himself. He shrank further into his shell. And then, direct contact. He would not see the figure communicating with him for many years except for abstract shapes and murmurs crawling around from left to right, right to left but the message was always the same: power.

After another day of grueling training Ben sat by a lonely fire, away from the group of chattering youths who had, to their credit, made a solid effort of befriending him, only to have their efforts put down repeatedly. Though under the mindful gaze of his uncle who masked his concern successfully for fear of showing bias, Ben was treading further than ever before into the recesses of the Force. He was not alone. The figure who had started out as his shadow-guide was now preying upon the boy's mistrust, his fears for the future and dangling promises of vanity-laden glory in front of the impressionable youth. Visions of a future swallowed in flame appeared to Ben, clearer and more glorious with each passing day. Curious, he descended further into the dreams. At first, he saw himself robed in black, weilding a lightsaber unlike any other he had seen and far more ominous. Its eerie glow of red was so strong he could feel its heat upon the side of his face. Then came the others. Ben saw himself the leader of a group, furthering their path to glory as they cut down every enemy on their path. The visions were as terrible as they were magnificent with their promises of awe and fear from a galazy that had turned its back on him. Temptation hounded him at every turn but Ben resisted, fearful and unable to see the end of these horrific glories. He had staved off his curiousity for a while but that night brought with it a new vision and it was all the boy could do to hide his trepidation.

A tall, muscular figure with a lightsaber as red as he'd ever seen, ready to take on anything in the galaxy. The man drew closer and closer until Ben was quavering in front of the Sith Lord whose gruesome mask imprinted itself in the boy's memory forevermore: Darth Vader. The man stood still in front of the boy but the heavy sound of his technological breathing resounded through the nightmare. For many nights to come Ben had relived the scene, always with the same standoff until that night when the figure whom he had come to recognize as his grandfather stood before him, monstrously breathing and dreadful. But something was different. Tonight the dream went a step further and Ben saw himself looking up at an outstretched hand, waiting, confused and frozen in time. The young man lay motionless in his sleep, petrified with the weight of a choice that would take him to the next stage of his vision. Suddenly, the sound of a lightsaber ripped him from the deluge. In a state of refined shock he found his heart in his throat as his uncle stared down at him, tearful and equally inert in the moment. The next few seconds were a blur of instinct and consequence. It was the last betrayal Ben would suffer himself to withstand as he brought the Jedi temple crumbling down…

...

Rey was aghast at the ease with which she turned on her would-be master when pressed but she had felt something, something stronger than either her or Luke's power cooped up on that miserable island of rock and self-imposed exile. When their hands touched it was the immense burden of loneliness and conflict which, for the first time in their lives, became bearable- because they had found each other. But Luke had stolen a moment that did not belong to him. Rey stared her master down, lightsaber pressed up as close to his face as possible, demanding an explanation of what had truly happened. Her unbridled rage was rewarded with the truth. Luke Skywalker had created Kylo Ren with his hasty misjudgment and his lapse of faith in his strongest pupil, in his blood. So much for the glory of legends. She knew what had to be done and set her course towards Kylo Ren without a second thought.

Rey could not have guessed at the enormity of the conflict that was waiting for her. She had been so sure of herself, of him that she sacrificed any hint of doubt in pursuit of the one she had connected to the most. But she would find an inner war worthier of greater strength than she possessed. The rush of seeing Ben for the first time since their connections was short-lived as he had her arrested on the spot and brought before his master. Rey kicked herself for her own lapse of faith in thinking that he had turned her over but Ben Solo had shown the remnants of his quality by putting an end to Supreme Leader Snoke and as they faced the praetorian guards together their unity proved to be a beast worthy of fear. In that moment Rey felt the piece that she had been missing all her life fall into place. That Ren had felt it too was undoubted but the purity of the occasion was short-lived. Rey felt her heart break all over again.

"They were nobody… You're nobody… But not to me," Ren spoke and she didn't correct him. His unwavering devotion to the dark side had lost him the right to know the truth of her lineage and she steeled her heart against him at that moment. Rey had been ready to take his hand, ready to run to him and assure him to his face that she was there, that she wouldn't leave without him. But the gravity of turning his back on the path he had committed himself to was too much for Kylo Ren and sensing her disappointment only agitated his powerlust further. This was the only way he knew to gain control and he was set on proving himself right to her, to the entire galaxy.

When last their minds connected Rey closed the Falcon door on him. She assured herself that she had frozen their connection as well- a task easily done, she thought, considering Snoke had admitted to its fostering and he was no more. She ignored the pain in Ren's eyes. Weeks passed with a rebellion resurrecting itself from its ashes and for a short time each side retreated to regroup and bind their wounds before the next wave of bloodshed inevitably began.

"I told you I'd be seeing you again, kid. Put the lightsaber down, it's done enough."

"Not enough," Ren hissed as he swung wildly at the ghost of Luke Skywalker come to plague him in the solitude of his upgraded lodgings. The more his saber pierced through Luke the further his rage escalated until Ren flung the weapon across his quarters and broke down into a heaving pile against the cool metal wall, sweat-stained head in his hands.

With the physical atrocities having subsided the ghost of his uncle calmly sat beside him and the two were left to a few minutes of silent brooding.

"I failed you, son."

"I don't want you in my head, _get out of my head!"_ Ren snarled, keeping his hands on his temples.

"I'm not in your head," Luke answered. "I'm here to ask your forgiveness properly and here is as good a place as any, seeing as you can't aim a hundred blasters my way. Not that it would do you any good." He had become more humorous in his old age.

"You're forgiven. Go away," Ren said, already sick of the interaction.

" _That_ was sincere."

Ren sighed, at once ready to admit defeat to a ghost. "Why are you here?"

"I'm here because I've learned something of importance from an old friend. I've learned the art of accepting failure."

"A bit latefor that."

"I would agree if I were speaking to anyone else but you but we seem to be competing in the failure department so you will hear an old man out."

"Say what you came to say and leave me be."

"I was afraid," Luke said. Ren glared sideways at the apparition and scoffed but his uncle continued unbothered. "You didn't have a chance to know the grandfather you've idolized in your mind. I barely knew him except for the end. I should have shared with you the little that I did know but I failed you in that as well. Let me set right what little I can. _Please,_ Ben _._ What I learned about my father I learned only in pieces, through scraps of information that found me over a lifetime. But what I can tell you for certain is this: he loved once. Fiercely. Bitterly. He was so utterly devoted to my mother that his fear of losing her put him on the path to the dark side. You see Ben, it was _fear,_ a fear that the dark side preyed on at his weakest moment that turned him into the Darth Vader you admire. My master Obi-wan couldn't save him, my mother's love couldn't save him… and he ripped the galaxy apart because he couldn't master a fear that grew out of control," Luke paused. Ben was staring off into space but he knew he had his nephew's attention. "I sensed the same fear in you. I sensed your fear of being abandoned again- the same fear you see in the girl Rey- and I saw that fear being so manipulated by the dark that I thought I had already lost you."

"You had no faith in me," Ben spat, much as he had done during their last encounter. "You were ready to kill me without a second thought. Like garbage. As if I was nothing."

"And it's for this that I've come to apologize to you. I let my fear get the best of me and my shame is greater than you can ever know. I guess I have more of my father in me than I thought. I come to you now with hope."

Ben huffed. His uncle was even crazier in death than he had been in life. "Hope? After everything that's happened how can you still have hope? You're delusional."

"I have hope _because_ of everything that's happened. I was made to see the conflict in you that I had been blind to before. Ben…You have so much of your grandfather in you. Be a better man than he was. Be a better master than I've been. There will never be an end to darkness. Without it we can never know the light. _That_ is the balance that gives birth to the Force. But it doesn't have to consume you," the ghost pleaded. "Don't let fear turn you into its slave. Rey's potential has the power to plunge the galaxy into a greater darkness than its ever known. The dark side _will_ come for her and if it manages to claim her then she will be beyond your control and everyone else's. You must resolve your conflict and be strong enough for the both of you. Ben. _Ben…_ You hold the power to end the cycle of hatred. Remember your teachings and walk back towards the light. You're stronger than your grandfather and I could ever be."

Ben Solo breathed deeply but refused to look anywhere but ahead. It mattered little for his uncle had vanished back into the folds of the Force but he could still hear the man's words hanging in the air like a storm ready to drown the lot of them.

"Ben… _You_ arethe last Jedi."

…

"Forgive me. I know this must be a painful subject for you," Rey said softly, unsure of how much or little to divulge to the General, "but I can't talk to Finn about this and…"

"Rey," said Leia in a motherly tone, still weak both physically and emotionally from the exhaustion of recent happenings, "it's just us now. You don't have to mince words with me. What's on your mind?"

"I… I don't know how to put it into words. So much has happened."

"Our losses have been great."

"Yes… but I mean… What I mean is: so much has happened between me and… and Ben."

Leia nearly dropped the cup of hot refreshment she was about to offer to the girl. The soft humming and beeping of gadgets in the background made for peaceful background noise to an otherwise delicate conversation. "You and _Ben?_ "

When Rey shared with Leia all that transpired in Snoke's throneroom, Leia felt the energy drain from her body and had to sit down to organize her thoughts. "I thought he was lost forever," she said at last, her eyes tearing as she stared ahead blankly. With a quick sniff she stiffened her resolve in true Leia fashion and, after hearing the end of Rey's tale said, "So you closed the door on him, huh?" She chuckled to mask her own conflicted emotions.

"I- I wanted to think that he was lost. Even when I shut the door. But I can't make myself stop believing that there's a part of Ben still reaching for the light. When we were connected I was so, _so_ sure that I could bring him back. That feeling hasn't faded but I was so angry with him-"

"You're not the only one, dear. Have you…spoken since all that's happened?"

"N," the girl admitted. "I wouldn't know what to say. We'd probably end up with lightsabers at each other's throats. Again."

"Diplomacy was never my son's strong suit."

"He told me things about my past. Things I'd buried…" Rey said and let it linger. Leia looked at her with renewed sadness but the young woman spoke before anymore futile apologies could put an awkwardness between them. "Please. Please don't," she entreated. "I'vestopped living in the past. My duty is with the Resistance now. I have to be strong. We all do."

"Ben is luckier than he realizes," Leia said knowingly and Rey flushed to her ears.

"I don't- it's not- I mean-"

"Oh, sweetheart, you should 've seen me and Han when we first met. It's a good thing we didn't have lightsabers on us. Ask Chewie if you don't believe me."

"I believe you," Rey said smiling shyly, ready to curl up into a ball of embarrassment.

"You have a difficult path ahead of you," Leia said after a pause that was much too uncomfortable for Rey. "One that I don't envy. As the head of the Resistance I can't encourage these…these connections. As a mother, as _his_ mother, I can only hope that you don't give up on him. He has so much to atone for. If only Han or Luke…" She trailed off.

"I don't know if I have the strength to save Ben," Rey admitted quietly.

"Only you can decide if this is a battle worth fighting," Leia answered. Her reolution never wavered but Rey could tell that she wa struggling to keep her throat from tightening. "He will always be my son but you are both desecended from the Force. And I've lost enough of the ones I love."

…

Rey didn't sense herself drifting off to sleep but she must have done so for when a strange kind of consciousness came into play she found herself in that safe space, secluded in the forest of nightshade.

"I didn't think you'd come," said the voice. It surprised her though she ought to have been used to it by now.

"It seems I don't have a choice. I thought you'd be too busy being Supreme Leader for…for all this." She stood with her back against a tree and watched him walk towards her, mindful of preserving a safe distance.

"I'll admit I was hurt when you refused my offer."

"What, the offer to be your underling and enslave the galaxy?"

"It wouldn't have been like that. I wanted you at my side, not under me," Ren said and instantly regretted the comment when her face screwed up in an irritated blush. "You know what I mean," he added sullenly, annoyed with his own redenned countenance.

"Which is the real you?" she snapped and he was so caught off guard he almost took a step back. "Your inner conflict is driving the galaxy to ruin. Why can't you see that? Are you Kylo Ren, the monster who thinks nothing of taking everything that isn't his or are you the Ben Solo I-"

"You what?" he asked calmly though he failed to suppress his shock. "You _what._ Say it."

"The Ben Solo I know is in there somewhere," she declared lamely.

"You're a terrible liar."

"And you're a terrible friend," Rey rebutted. Ren's face dropped the second the last letter escaped her lips. Seeing that she had cut him at a vulnerable moment, Rey couldn't stop herself from presing on with her attack, just as she had done when their first connections began, just as he deserved.

"You said that I was nothing- to everyone except you. You promised to protect me. And I believed you, like a fool. You thought nothing of betraying my trust and turning back into a monster the moment you set your eyes on that throne. I confided in you, Ben. I- I felt something so strong when our hands touched and- and now I'm remembering that the only thing I need to be protected from is you!"

"Rey-"

"I came to you. When I found out what Luke did I nearly struck him down. I put my life on the line hoping that Ben was still in there somewhere-"

"Rey, listen-"

"No, you listen! Kylo Ren, Ben Solo, whoever you are, you can hunt me until my dying breath and I will fight you with everything I have left. You will never-"

His lips finished her sentence. How was it that a kiss shared between minds could be so powerful ? Rey hadn't realized how they had closed the distance between them until she felt his lips crushing hers with an intensity that paralyzed her. Ren had her in such an embrace that she couldn't have moved even if she had wanted to. He wasn't wearing his gloves- this she realized as his hands crept up to cup her face, ensuring that she couldn't pull away from the kiss until he was ready to let her go. This once, she permitted his selfish aggresiveness. When they finally broke the kiss he was too drained to look her in the eyes and he buried his head at the side of her neck. Trembling, Rey ran her hands through his hair and allowed herself to rest her head against his.

Ever so slowly Ren lifted his head but they were both at a loss for words. When he lifted his hand to touch her face again she flinched, then cursed herself for thinking he would try to harm her after their moment. The reaction didn't go unnoticed but Ren brought his hand to caress her cheek anyway, his mouth pursing in frustration as it had a habit of doing, eyes red with emotion he was still unable to communicate. But when she didn't strike his hand away he allowed himself to feel hope. He felt it still when the girl closed her eyes and held his hand, still pressed against her cheek, in hers. Feelings new and raw were swelling within him at a pace he was hard pressed to keep up with and Ren dared himself to renew their kiss when suddenly there came a knock at the door. Like a switch, the connection was lost.

His breathing was as heavy as it had ever been, now coupled with the anger of interruption. Kylo Ren was in the mood to maim the first person who crossed him.

"What is it?" he barked and an officer answered from behind the door.

"You are needed at the front, Supreme Leader Ren."


	12. Duel of the Faiths

**(XII) Duel of the Faiths**

"What do you think you're playing at?" Ren snarled, mindful of the fact that he was unarmed and woefully outnumbered. This was not the scenario he had anticipated when he had been torn from his moment with Rey. As the newly appointed Supreme Leader he had had no reason not to join his crew on the ship's bridge when summoned. Now Ren was was regretting a great many decisions that he had made throughout the course of his career, not the least of which was having stepped out of his quarters without his weapon.

There stood Kylo Ren, enraged, confused but surmising the situation quickly. He was surrounded by Hux and his fist-worthy smirk, his stormtroopers and…

"What's the meaning of this?" he repeated, staring straight at the masked faces of the battle-ready Knights of Ren who had not been summoned from the corners of the galaxy upon his request.

"I've been commanded to relieve you of your duties, _Supreme Leader,"_ declared Hux in that smarmy way that made Ren want to forego his lightsaber altogether and dig the minion's eyes out with his bare hands. It was all the young master of darkness could do to not let his fury get the better of him for a cool two hundred to one wasn't going against the odds- it was suicide.

"On whose orders?" Ren hissed, tight-lipped and beginning to shake with pent-up force.

"Why, the Supreme Leader's of course," Hux smirked again, relishing the long-awaited moment of seeing Kylo Ren's world come crashing down. "Take him away!" he commanded and the guards had Ren in their hold within seconds. "Throw him in with his beloved uncle. Let them rot together."

Ren looked to his knights. Fearless and unparalled were their skills with the force. They had looked to him as their leader, fought at his side and heeded his commands. They were the few to side with him and leave Luke's Jedi temple as it burned to nothing. And they had betrayed him. They stood before him without a hint of acknowledgment and the moment seemed to stretch out in time only to come back as a blade that dug its way into Kylo Ren's back. Resisting his captivity was an exercise in futility but Ren was set against suffering this particular betrayal lightly. As he was led away to a cell and weakened with each crippling blow to the body, the last words he heard were ' _Ben Solo is forevermore stripped of his title as a Knight of Ren. I doubt he'll want to keep the name Kylo now…The Supreme Leader will see to his fate."_ With a lumbering blow to the head Ben Solo's unconscious body was tossed into a filthy holding cell.

Rey had been standing still, too shaken from the repercussions of what had just transpired between her and the man she had once sought to kill until a disturbance in theForce came like a direct hit to her head and she was left a crumpled mess on the cold floor. She grabbed at her muscles and wrung her hands into her head but the pain was so atrocious she could barely pick herself up. In the next instant she could feel him, all of him, and she was plunged into his unconscious just as swiftly as if she'd jumped into an ocean. In the darkness of Ben's mind she ran and ran but couldn't find him. Then, her ears picked up on something almost inaudible. Rey silently followed the muffled crying until she had no sense of her surroundings left or where her feet led. She stopped as soon as her eyes locked onto a form and she knew she had met her destination. There was the child Ben Solo, naked and unmoving on the floor with his knees pulled up against his chin. He was trembling. The boy made no motion to acknowledge her presence and his eyes were so focused on the nothingness he was staring at that he didn't even blink.

Rey crept towards the boy timidly with her hand reaching out to placate him should he take notice of her. Nothing. She kneeled down to his level but still he looked through and beyond her phantasm. Ever so slowly she lifted her hand further until the tip of her fingers barely grazed his forearm. In less than a second Rey was transported to the bitter core of the boy's agony. How excrutiatingly he had felt the losses and betrayals in his life. This was not someone who had succeeded in closing himself off from the world but a soul who felt everything acutely, agonizingly. He had been too young when the Force came to claim him in one way or another. The frail boy's psyche had not been ready for the burden of choice. She felt the waves of light and darkness grappling for control over his spirit like great beasts fighting over the last carcass on the ground. The battle was not new. Rey sensed that their skirmish was so deeply rooted that the boy may have been born with a built-in conflict. Then, like a beacon in the night, she saw the figure of Darth Vader. It wasn't difficult to see why the boy fixated on the myth of his grandfather; he was a towering vision in black, a pillar of strength no one dared toy with, even fewer would dare to betray. To the boy's mind, Darth Vader was the very nexus of power which he felt himself devoid of. Then, something more sinister, a darkness even older than Vader was creeping in to swallow the fantasy of control. When she saw the creature, he was not someone whose appearance she recognized. But the feeling… there was no disguising it. Snoke could take on any form he wished but would never be able to veil his malice, his relentless cruelty or his powerlust. One aspect that caught Rey's attention was the figure's manner of dress. Something about the hood shielding his gnarled face lent a primal simplicity to the monster's manner and made him even more menacing. Rey couldn't quite put her finger on it. The boy Ben was pleading with her to come back but the image begged for just a bit more investigation and like the curiousity that killed the cat, Rey allowed herself to scrutinize. He was almost as Luke had been- that is to say, a more sinister counterpart to Luke's light. He was not armed with a lightsaber but there was no mistaking the tremendous power he kept at his command. Rey was startled when she realized that the boy was standing beside her, equally fixated on the image. Suddenly, the creature Snoke was joined by another figure cloaked much like himself, smaller but no less swaddled in corruption. They were busy discussing amongst themselves but one could easily discern the master from the apprentice.

"He used to be a Darth, you know," the boy whispered. Although Rey had barely been able to hear him the men turned towards them as if they had been shouting in a cave. Quickly Rey grabbed the boy and said "Ben, we have to leave. Now. Now!" But it was too late. The phantasmagoria was unraveling around them with the figures closing in, their electric assault preceding their attack. With no end in sight and the lightning-force inches away, Rey fiercely pulled the boy to her. She could think of nothing else than the need to shield him for however long possible. Now, imprisoned tightly within her arms, Rey closed her eyes.

Ben was startled back to consciousness with a headache the likes of which he'd never known. He felt cold and broken. Wincing with every motion, he propped himself up against a wall and rubbed at his sores. Chuckling from within his cell made him aware that he was not its sole occupant.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?"

Ben closed his eyes and tried to level out his breathing. He wished nothing more than to be back in his room being badgered by the ghost of his uncle and hoped that even his luck wouldn't be foul enough to land him in a cell with Lando Calrissian.

"Either the Order's housing quality standards are slipping or you've had one too many shots of Jawa-juice kid but one of us is in the wrong place."

Knowing full well the torture Lando had been subjected to, Ben stubbornly refused to face him. He knew he wouldn't be able to get away with ignoring the man's presence altogether but this was a fine turn of events his force-visions hadn't prepared him for.

"Tell me, _Kylo Ren,_ is it procedure now for the Supreme Leader's lapdog to spend time with their captives? Or you just here to pay your uncle Lando another one'a yer friendly visits?"

"Are you through?" Ben asked, deadpan and wincing while trying to adjust his back.

"Ahhh," drawled Lando, "I'm just gettin' started, kid. But I tell you what. For the first time, I _don't_ have a bad feeling about this."

"Rey, it's not safe! What- what're you not telling me?" Finn prodded and sensed his friend's apprehension. Trying to lighten the mood he added, "You get a boyfriend in the meantime, cute boyfriend? You know I think I could work something out between you and Poe. I think he-"

" _Finn."_ Rey was a young woman possessed. She wanted nothing more than to confide in her only friend but the issue had grown beyond that of trust and was now a ticking timebomb. She could barely make sense of the storm within herself much less divulge recent happenings to him. Finn would never understand. He would want to but the discussion of redemption would take up too much of the precious time Rey no longer had. Ben was in danger, the Resistence had never gotten away from it and the cluster of evil she had thought they put an end to was seeking a way to crawl back to the surface- with a vengeance. No, there was no time to make anyone understand. First, Rey needed answers and she was now prepared to make the necessary sacrifices to obtain them. She would reach out with her senses, just as Luke had taught her, and she would use those skills to delve deep into the folds of the Force- no matter the price.

"Finn, please listen," she entreated, "I'll explain everything when the time is right but you have to trust me. I've got to concentrate. If anything… If anything happens-"

"What?"

"Just give me time, please? If anything happens tell Leia. Promise me. _Finn."_

"Alright, I promise," he finally conceded, completely unconvinced as to the necessity of all this Force-diving. "But I'll be right outside that door. I don't like this."

"Thank you," the young woman said and ushered her friend out the door. Her heart sped with anxiety but the moment was now. She sat herself in the center of her room, crossed her legs as she had done before, took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

At first there was nothing. In fact, there was so much nothing that Rey found her mind wandering to when Luke had smacked her with the reed and smiled. She scolded herself to concentrate and within a few moments of tempered breathing Rey found herself reliving the cycle. Life. Death. Decay feeding new life. Warmth. Cold. Peace. Violence… and the fragile balance flowing through all things. Like a faint echo in the stillness a mantra found its way to her and her lips followed the chant with silent ease. _I am one with the Force and the Force is with me. I am one with the Force and the Force is with me…_

Over and over she recitated the words and like a faithful guide the Force led the girl through its intricate maze of balances and counterbalances. Rey dipped through the waves. Light fed into dark, dark into light and the will of the Force seemed to carry on for an eternity. She reached further. The Force was not as seamless now. In places it was downright coarse and unforgiving. She trekked towards the darkness. _I am one with the Force and the Force is with me…_ The finely tuned balance she had first plunged into was not as it seemed once one broke through the surface. Rey steeled her nerves, warning that should she allow herself to be drowned there would be no quick wake-up calls this time and it would all be for nothing. Treading farther in than she had ever been, Rey felt the pulling of a familiar cord and flowed towards the sensation. Energy was different now, crackling and breaking at every turn, ready to devour the weak and expel a different creature in its place. But the power of the dark side was unmistakable. Rough and burning with the heat of a thousand stars Rey let the atmosphere envelope her and claim her, knowing it to be the only way to gain entrance to its secrets. There it was again: that laughter she had heard upon first meeting Luke. And then, as if the very light of the universe had been snuffed out in a single breath, darkness.

"Pity we should meet under such circumstances," said a voice dripping with cordiality.

"Who are you?"

"Pity still that you were kept hidden from me," it continued, "You would have been a worthy successor. I would not have wasted precious teachings on that traitor had I known of your existence, my child."

"Traitor?"

"I believe you are familiar with my former apprentice Darth Vader, albeit indirectly."

"You! _You_ -!"

"Yes," the voice answered almost merrily, "I believe you know of me. Time was the entire galaxy did."

"You're Palpatine!" Rey hissed, "You were the Sith emperor who lead the Empire."

"Yes, Rey, I am. And you are the grandchild I was not made aware of. Such a waste of potential. An heir to the Force and here you are, shackled and groveling at it for answers when I would have you use it to restore order to the galaxy!"

"Liar!" she barked and her voice reverberated through the Force. " _You_ are the source of all this bloodshed. You had the entire galaxy bent to your will-"

"Indeed I had not," Darth Sidious carried on calmly. "I was merely a weilder of the Force, much as we all are. No, Rey, my saving grace lay in my sense of purpose. That and I had a vision which many shared."

"Shared? They served you out of fear!"

"Fear is a powerful ally, young Rey. It was fear that kept Darth Vader in check. Fear that gave birth to a new order, rising from the ashes of a corrupt Republic. It was your beloved _Jedi_ that brought the peace and security we all enjoyed to its knees."

Rey could feel herself tearing up in anger. She tried to steady her voice but it broke just enough to let the man know that he was getting to her. "How can you have such a twisted understanding of life?" she begged. "Do you lack _all_ empathy for the well-being of others?"

"Child, I am nothing if not empathy itself. You crave to save the ones you love from a horrific end. I did no less for Anakin Skywalker when I mentored him at my side."

"You turned him into Darth Vader!"

"I saved him from himself," Sidious declared, "after he was left burned within an inch of his life, arms and legs cut off and barely human! It was my power over the Force that gave him a renewed sense of purpose. It was your Jedi that robbed him of it in the first place. I promised him life when there was only death."

"You promised him something you could never deliver," Rey bit back.

"But I could have, had he not delayed in committing himself to me fully."

"No one can cheat death."

"There was one who could. One who _did."_ That laughter would haunt her wherever she went but Rey was so shocked at the declaration that she could hardly speak above a whisper.

" _Snoke?"_

" _Yeees,"_ Sidious cooed with his gravelly voice. "But he was not always called that."

"It's not possible," Rey shook her head, biting back her anger. "Ben… Ben killed him. I saw it with my own eyes."

"Search your feelings. You know it to be true. What you saw was a master of the Force leaving his corporeal self to seek out another host. And he will find it in due time. " His tone was unwaveringly calm. Whatever his claims on the dark side were, Rey knew that the only way to unravel the spiderweb the galaxy was caught up in was to find its source. And she was face to face with the webweaver himself.

"I can _feel_ your anger," Sidious laughed and Rey was not one to correct him. The more they spoke the angrier she became and the larger his awful grin grew. He was baiting her and they were both aware of it but she had sworn to take it if it meant putting an end to the madness.

"Tell me how it's done. How is it possible that he is alive? How am I to kill something that can't be killed?"

"You are asking me to turn over the secrets of the dark side- a side you sneer at without knowing its true power."

"I came here for your secrets."

"Oh? And why must I tell you?"

"You were strong with the Force once. But you're here and Snoke… I know you are not lying because I can feel his power. It's growing stronger than ever. He will return and I must face him."

"Then what is the answer to our riddle, child? You are not strong enough with the light to destroy something so far beyond your capabilities. But you have yet to embrace the full power of the Force. You shun the dark yet it is the only weapon that comes to your aid."

"There has to be another way!"

"There is no other way! Not if you want to save your precious Kylo Ren," Sidious spat and their voices grew louder with each turn of the phrase. "Snoke will have his head thrown across his throneroom while you stand here sniveling at me! _Feel_ the power flowing in your veins-"

"I'm _nothing_ like you!"

"You are _stronger_ than me!"

"You would make me your puppet just like you did Darth Vader!"

"Vader was a conflicted fool who lost his conviction! Snoke will never stop and the galaxy will _burn_. He will be aided by his growing hordes until there is nothing left to consume and your puny Resistance is wiped from all memory. Ben Solo will die in a foolish attempt to end his master yet again. Nothing will remain of what you hold dear. I have foreseen it."

"Liar!"

"And time grows short. Embrace the dark side, your _true_ _nature_ , or you have already failed."

"Never!" yelled Rey and it came with such strength that she felt her throat rip apart. Images of death and lifeless bodies floating across the nothingness of space assaulted her mind and she screamed as much as her throat would allow. "I won't turn to the dark side!" she screeched at the nothingness consuming her. But the images pierced her like the lightsaber she thrashed about wildly trying to cast them out. She lunged herself at the image of her grandfather, ready to tear him and his knowledge to tatters. Her hands grappled a vision and nothing more. Violently Rey tried to rip at his flesh but he was nothing more than another phantom, laughing at her rage, feeding it.

"This is bigger than you or me or Snoke, girl. You fight for the soul of the Force! Claim it, or others will."

Exhausted and a breath a second, Rey fell to her knees.

"I'll save him," she rasped, "I'll save them all." Her heart was pounding in her ears. "I won't turn to the dark side," she wheezed, " I won't."

"My child," Darth Sidious chuckled and was suddenly serious. "Open your eyes. You already have. Now come, tell me," he smiled, "are you familiar with the legend of Darth Plagueis the Wise?"

"Rey," Ben said unable to stop the pounding in his chest. After the throbbing in his head had subsided he bent his will towards the girl's only to come up empty-handed. For the first time in his life Ben Solo knew fear for another and the feeling was crippling. It was as though Rey had been wiped off the map and the thought would have driven him mad in that cell but he refocused his feelings and reached out for her. The minutes dragged and still he came up with nothing until finally, when he least expected it, he felt a spark. It was small and so far away from him that the more he reached for it the further away it recoiled. At first he gave in to the paranoia of abandonment, thinking that she was intentionally shutting him out but his fear for the girl's safety bid him try harder. When he was sure the spark belonged to her a new mystery presented itself. She was there, wherever there was, but her energy was fleeting. Her light danced away from him even as he reached out to touch it. Just when he caught a hold of its escaping tendril Ben felt a surge of raw power determined to keep him out. And it was a power he knew all too well. There was Rey, inside the jaws of the beast that was the dark side and marching further into its belly. Lando's suspicious questioning pulled him away.

"What about her? Tell me you didn't kill the girl, Ben."

"Far from it," Ben answered curtly. "But she's in danger."

"So? What's that got to do with you?"

"We have to get out of this cell," Ben declared and Lando did nothing to hide his incredulity. He mouthed the question _we?_ and pointed first to himself then at Ben.

Before Ben could reply, a smug Hux followed by an entourage of guards made their way through the filthy wasteland of the prison block to face his captives.

"I'm afraid your bonding is at an end. The Supreme Leader has ordered your execution, Solo. I'm told he will be administering your demise _personally_."

Ben immediately had Hux's throat in the Force's chokehold but the guards, all too aware of his methods, tazed him before he could do Hux any permanent damage. Grasping for air Hux gathered himself up and declared with the utmost disain, "I'm going to enjoy this." With that the squad made their exit, leaving the two in isolation once more. Time was running out.

"Tough break, kid," Lando said, lacking in sympathy for the young man while unable to mask his curiousity entirely. "Hey I know how it feels to be thrown out like trash."

"Trash…" Ben mumbled to himself. Whatever he was going to do had to be quick but the Order, cautious of Ben's capabilities, had left nothing to chance. "Trash," he muttered again, surveying his surroundings now, straining his eyes in the dimly lit block until he was rewarded with what he would never have thought to look for, under different circumstances.

"You do think on your feet when it's your own skin on the line," he quipped at Lando.

"Now wait a minute, are you outta yer mind? How're we even gotta get all the way over there?"

"Fine. Stay in your cell," Ben answered indifferently. "You used to have more imagination."

The line of dialogue and Ben's docile behavior towards him had Lando so off-guard he wondered if he'd been hallucinating the whole scene.

"Alright hotshot, suppose that vent does lead to the garbage compound. Just how're we getting outta this cell?"

"I'm going to use the Force."

"Ah, here wo go."

"I'm going to use the Force but it'll drain a lot of my energy," Ben continued coldly. "Maybe all of it, I don't know. We have to be ready to move the moment there's an opening. I may need your help." The last part was so difficult for Ben to spit out he practically dared Lando to dwell on it. Then maybe they would kill each other and be done with it all. But Lando nodded silently, loathe to give up on his suspicion. Just before Ben closed his eyes in concentration Lando hit the back of his hand against Ben's chest.

"How do I know I can trust you after everything that's happened?"

"You don't. I'm not asking for your trust."

"Then how do I know you won't go crawling back to beg Snoke's favor the moment we're outta here, huh?"

"You don't. My place is no longer with the First Order," Ben said, looking out of the cell and anywhere except at Lando. "I thought I had killed Snoke. I _did_ kill him. That's not something he's likely to forgive. Regardless, I no longer seek his forgiveness." Lando nodded again, slower this time, eyebrows furrowed, unsure of what to even ask anymore.

"Well…" he muttered in confusion, "Alright then. Have at it, son."


	13. Trust

**A/N: I do love it when a story starts evolving into a bigger beast than initially planned. I don't know about you guys but I'm not prepared to wait another two years for them to further ruin my childhood. I'm just going to write my own ending- and therein lies the beauty of fanfiction. I hope you're still along for the ride! On a sidenote: it's often very late in the evening when I finish writing these chapters and by the time I'm done, the tedious task of editing has increased tenfold. I apologize for the mistakes peppered throughout the story but have every intention of going through everything from the beginning once I've finished. Also, it seems that whatever spacing I try to use to separate scenes magically disappears when I post a new chapter (kill me** **). I hope to solve this problem as soon as possible. Enjoy the new chapter and share the love in a review!**

 **(XIII) Trust**

" _Midi-chlorians_ are a strange business, child. Pity that your Jedi Master failed to equip you with the proper education."

Rey felt her meeting with Darth Sidious slowly drawing to an end yet she couldn't shake the feeling that the Sith Lord was stalling or keeping for the sake of dangling the final shred of the hunt in front of her.

"He taught me enough," she asked, suspicious of where his baiting would lead them.

"Then you know of what it is I speak." Rey had no answer. In truth she had never heard the word and her lack of knowledge was difficult to conceal. "I thought not," drolled her grandfather. "Midi-chlorians are the source of our connection to the Force. They are the essence of life itself, the reason I am able to speak to you now. They are as much a part of me as they are of you."

"More dark magic?"

"Far from it, child," appealed the man. "I have told you about Darth Plagueis and his wisdom. You have been witness to his success in the form of Snoke. But there is more… The answer to your riddle lies within you, dear Rey."

"I don't understand."

"Even the most powerful can be blinded. My attempts at influincing midi-chlorians in my offspring failed. Or so I was led to believe. _They_ were nobodies. Experiments to be cast aside lest they should threaten the balance of the Empire. But it is apparent that my efforts were not in vain and a child was born, one with enough strength to control that which gave her life. I see now that Darth Vader's betrayal ran even deeper than even I could have predicted. He was wise to keep you from me. It's rather poetic, in fact." So chuckled the man who had once been Sheev Palpatinefor he was not so far into the darkness that he could not appreciate the twisted and malicious irony of his situation.

"You expect me to defeat Snoke using… _midi-chlorians?_ I'm not strong enough to finish this by myself."

"With my guidance you will be able to deal with Snoke once and for all and restore order to the galaxy! Do not dismiss my hand as flippantly as you did the boy's. I make my offer but once, child."

"Why do you want to help me? You must want something in return."

"Call it vanity, granddaughter. I lay my trust in the hope that you, blood of my blood, will finish what I have started without succumbing to the Jedi's… _lack of vision."_

" _Trust,"_ Rey repeated. "I don't think you understand the word. Why should I dare to trust you?

"For the same reason that brought you here, child: _I_ am your only hope." Rey didn't answer. There was nothing to say but confirm his declaration and she refused to give him the satisfaction. "Very well then," he sung, delighted that the girl was bending to his way of thinking. At once his smile was replaced by the commanding tone of a Sith Lord- one who would not have his orders second-guessed. "You will go to the planet Byss in the Beshqek system," he declaredd, "There you will find the aid you seek. Go. _Now._ "

* * *

The entirety of the dreadnought was on high alert. Alarms blared through every concievable facet of the battlestation and it was not long before everyone on board knew that the once dreaded Kylo Ren, now demoted to an expendable Ben Solo, had made his escape. But the stormtroopers were not as quick on their feet as their foe who knew the inner workings of the ship far better than they ever could. Ben Solo and Lando Calrissian made short work of tearing through the prison cell and escaping into the vent. Not a second was spared, even with the battered Ben clutching on to his once-friend for support. Lando had had no time to make a moral issue out of helping out his torturer and the pair was falling through the vent before Hux and his militia could even grasp what had happened.

"I miscalculated," Ben said curtly when they plummeted to the floor of an empty ill-lit room.

"Say what now?"

"We're farther from the escape pods than we should be."

"Alright genius, what's the plan then?"

"We can't use the escape pods, they're too far away. And they're unequipped for battle. We're going to have to fight our way through."

"Whoa, stop right there son. I thought you wanted to escape, not commit suicide. Maybe I oughtta go it alone."

"Why don't you come up with a better plan then, instead of running your mouth."

"As a matter of fact, having avoided your kind for the better part of my life, I have one. You're gonna have to do as I tell you, now."

"I have a bad feeling about this," Ben muttered.

"And Ben… If you screw me over on this… I'll kill ya." There was no joking in Lando's voice as he stared at the young man in front of him. Despite everything that had happened, all he could see was a confused, angry little boy who had lost his way. But there was no undoing the past and his eyes said that he would make good on his promise if provoked.

"You have my word."

Roughly five minutes later, Ben Solo was as unamused as he could have ever expected to be- and more. Not even their haste was enough to stop him venting his displeasure.

"This is the stupidest plan you could've come up with. It's a miracle you've stayed alive this long."

"Yeah, no thanks to you, kid. You're way too tall to be a stormtrooper but it's the best we've got- now move!"

Lando's plan was genius in its simplicity. After biding their time and incapacitating two stormtroopers on the lookout, the escapees promptly releaved their enemies of their uniforms and geared up in their garb. Suitably disguised and halting every now and again to avoid being noticed, they ventured as far as they dared, until the escape pods were in plain sight. With all hell having broken loose, the area was not as heavily guarded as it should have been for no one thought the mighty Kylo Ren so broken as to lower himself to deserting the fight in an escape pod. The pair made short work of disposing of the remaining stormtroopers in the area, leaving only death in their wake. Quickly they dumped two bodies into the escape pod and sent it on its way. Then, the real hustle began. With the Order's attention diverted and two lifeforms apparently escaping, the unlikely duo changed route towards the tie fighters, the Order being none the wiser.

"I can't see a thing in this helmet," Ben grumbled and sped behind Lando. As their pace quickened it was all Ben could do to not give himself away by limping. Hiding in plain sight was proving a worthy tactic as every stormtrooper in the vicinity was mobilized- some sweeping the grounds of the ship while others raced after the decoy. Lando ran into the first available fighter he saw and they were leaving the dreadnought without further hindrance.

"Woo!" yelled Lando in delight after removing the suffocating mask. Ben followed suit.

"Unbelievable," the young man remarked dryly, sweat drenching his forehead, his hair stuck to every side of his face.

Lando was in a state of elation. "Pays to listen to yer elders sometimes, kid."

"Tell me how you plan to get us out of this, _elder_. They'll track us soon enough and a tie fighter doesn't have much range."

In truth Lando hadn't thought that far ahead. He knew where _he_ needed to be but what to do about the kid? Sure they'd escaped and Ben hadn't turned false on him yet but Lando had suffered too much at the hands of Kylo Ren to be overly forthcoming with his trust. He didn't have to look at the man beside him to sense a distinct lessening of animosity. Rather, the animosity was there but it was now solely directed at the First Order. But it wasn't good enough and they had no time.

"We gotta ditch the fighter kid."

"They'll pick us up on whatever trash heap you're planning to strand us on."

"That's why we gotta stay mobile. Not goin' to a system." Ben knew that tone all too well. It was the tone Lando took whenever he was dancing around an issue. The tone that had driven his father crazy. He hated that tone- it was determined to steer them back into trouble.

"Spit it out, old man," he said, glaring at the pilot.

"I trusted _you,_ Ben, now you gotta trust me." To his surprise the young Solo satisfied himself with merely glaring and made no response. Lando's internal relief was beyond measure. The day was getting stranger by the minute, growing in proportion to Lando's anxiety but he sensed that they were approaching an even stickier situation than the one they had just left behind. He had no choice. No matter how Lando looked at it their destination was always the same: the Millenium Falcon. He'd have to smuggle the kid in as a stormtrooper and with every hasty decision made Lando's head hurt a bit more. The kid wasn't going to be happy about what he was cooking up. Out of sheer tension he chuckled and Ben grew even more suspicious of the scheme but he had one person on his mind and for her sake he kept his peace.

Now that the rush of their exit was ebbing Ben found his concern for the girl accelerating ferociously. He was no fool; he could read Lando's intentions like an open book. If they weren't so pressed for time Ben would just as soon have let Lando sweat it out a bit more but he put the childish notion aside.

"I'll keep my helmet on but you know she's going to know the moment I set foot on that ship."

"Damn Jedi mindtricks," Lando said. He should have figured the kid could read him loud and clear.

"I'm not a Jedi," Ben snarled.

"I know she'll know but that doesn't mean the whole crew's gotta know. Wait a minute… you're not gonna give me a hard time about this?"

"No. I need to be on the Falcon."

"OK, see, you sayin' shit like that doesn't make me any less nervous."

"Now you have a problem with me agreeing with you?"

"My problem is _trust,_ son. I don't think it's too hard to understand after everything you've done, after what you did to your fa-" Lando stopped short. Now wasn't the time for heart-to-hearts and they were pushing the limits of the fighter's range. Lando could only hope that the Falcon was at its designated rendezvous point or there was going to be hell to pay. He kept his eyes trained on the stars.

"Just wear the helmet and don't talk, kid. You're going in as my prisoner. I'm still holdin' ya to your promise, ya hear? One false move and-"

"I'm not hard of hearing. I gave you my word."

"You'll forgive me for not trusting it, your highness. The Sith don't exactly have a great track record with trust."

"I'm not a Sith."

"Well what the hell are you, then?" Lando said, whirling around to confront the young man. Even though his defenses were on high alert, something in him told Lando that there was nothing but sincerity. Ben gulped, his mouth dry and eyes red from the physical pain now coming back to plague him. He knew the answer to Lando's question but couldn't quite bring himself to answer him with the truth. Instead, he calmly put on his helmet and declared, "I'm a stormtrooper." Lando looked ahead at the resting ship growing larger as they drew nearer. Now the only question left was how the hell they were going to get on the Falcon without being blown up.

"If you send a transmission the Order will be here within minutes. That hunk of junk has to make the jump to lightspeed as soon as we're on board." Lando nodded and immediately set to contacting the Falcon.

"This is Lando Calrissian."

"Captain Calrissian?

"Yes ma'am," Lando said to whoever it was on the line, charm in full swing. "I have a prisoner with me and we're being tracked by the Order. You guys gotta make the jump to lightspeed as soon as we're on board."

"Confirmed, Captain. We're ready for you."

Ben could feel his heart racing. It was the same panic he felt and tried to suppress when he nearly killed his mother, the same as when he thought she died despite his having released the trigger. Now it was the reality of knowing that he would come face to face with the woman who had loved him beyond reason and the one whom he had disappointed beyond repair. Before he knew it Ben was cuffed and being ushered onto the Falcon, half in a daze, the other half very conscious of being the center of attention he didn't care for. Lando was doing his part in diverting the group that had dwindled to a miserable size.

"Blow that fighter up and make the jump to lightspeed!" he yelled and the crew obeyed without question. As soon as they were off Lando guided the stromtrooper away from prying eyes into a secluded part of the Falcon.

"Alright listen here," he whispered at Ben. "Don't move. I gotta get some info." Ben's silence hopefully meant that he would comply and Lando went off to get his questions answered as quickly as possible before the whole scheme blew up in his face.

Ben sat silently, thoroughly irked at being on board the metal monstrosity that had been the bane of his existence since childhood. After quickly scanning the ship with his senses he knew for certain that Rey was not on board. In vain he searched for her, eyes closed and hidden beneath the ugly white exterior of the trooper mask, but she was out of his reach yet again. Desperately he reached out until he was jolted out of his trance.

Leia stood a mere arm's length away, breathing heavily and unsure of what to make of the situation. She knew what her feelings were telling her, even as she stared at the sitting stormtrooper looking up at her, frozen in place, even as her eyes throbbed and reddened. For a while they stood in place, each petrified by the other, speechless, afraid. Ben felt his heart sink with guilt and sadness at how old and frail his mother looked. No amount of battle could have done this to her- it was he who was responsible and the fact was more than he could bear.

Without a single shred of doubt Leia ran to the boy and held his head within her arms. He could hear her tears falling onto the top of his helmet but he refused to take it off. He wasn't ready. Leia didn't push him for deep down inside, she didn't know if she was ready either. Guilt-ridden and trembling, Ben slowly moved his arms around his mother's waist until they came full circle and embraced her tiny body so tightly she almost lost her breath. Neither of them dared break the embrace for fear of irretrievably losing what they had momentarily regained.

Lando coughed to make his presence known. At any other time he would have thought twice about interrupting the moment but he needed a word with Leia in private.

"You're gonna have to save the catching up for later," he said authoritatively.

"Rey is in danger," Ben said, clearing his throat. "I have to get to her before…"

"Before what?" asked Leia, even more confused by this development. She had left Rey on their new base, safe and presumably holding down the fort while they ventured out every so often to make contact with any allies to the Resistance.

"Before she destroys herself. Mother," Ben said and his severity carried across despite the helmet. "We have to head back to your base."

Leia nodded silently, eyebrows crashing into each other in a line of deep concentration. She had given the order to return to base even as they jumped to lightspeed.

"Where is it, anyway?" Lando asked.

"Somewhere we haven't been in a long time. Somewhere buried in the past," answered Leia, overcome with a cautious nostalgia. "Yavin 4."

* * *

" _I thought I'd lost you. Rey, you've put yourself in danger. I want you to come back. Please."_

She could hear his voice in the back of her mind. It was neither clear nor dull, merely a presence beckoning her outside the realm of the new reality she had landed on. Rey didn't know if her skills had advanced of their own accord or if the contact with her grandfather had triggered something more authoritative in her but she now found herself a dominant master of her own Force- and it was keeping Ben Solo at bay.

As soon as Rey came to she knew she was different. Her energy was not as it had been going in and so much of the Force had shifted during her meeting with Darth Sidious that the girl knew herself to be changed forever. She had allowed for him to sneak inside and Rey feared she would carry a piece of her grandfather's undying hatred with her- forever. Like a shadow she slipped away from the base and into the first ship she could find. No droids, no trackers, no backup plans- just a sense of purpose even she had difficulty justifying. She didn't have time to make Finn understand, especially in his current state fretting over Rose. Leia might have understood but there was no telling when she would return. No, Rey had made the right decision. Leia would understand when she saw the broken lightsaber on her bed. Perhaps the Sith Lord was luring her into a trap- for whatever good it would do his ghost. She could be certain of nothing and didn't put it past the former Emperor of the Galactic Empire to spin her into a web but it was a game she had to play- if only for a chance to take Snoke out and put an end to the First Order.

"C _ome back… Come back where I can see you_." She heard the voice entreat. Calm as it was, there was a concern to it that hadn't been obvious before. She'd question it later; there was a new darkness to investigate and the faster she closed in on her destination the heavier the darkness in her heart grew. Had Rey been a lesser pilot she would have found herself ripped to pieces in outer space. The journey was hazardous enough without dread weighing her down. A palpable cold suddenly enveloped her as she made her way through the foreboding isolation of the Byss Run, weaving her way to its very end, towards a planet that even the maker had forgotten. As the ship closed in on the planet Rey was dumbstruck with awe, even moreso than she had been when they approached Takodana. The planet's glow of fiendish blue was the first time Rey felt an antipathy towards the color and she promised herself that if she found a way to rebuild Luke's lightsaber, she'd opt for a color, any other color, except for the one that would forever remind her of the ghoulish system she had just entered. Rey was so fixated on her destination she let the ship guide her descent as if the planet had its own tractor beam.

Rey had no memory of landing. Within the half hour she would have no memory of her flight to the planet Byss, either. It was as though time became a trinket she had casually tossed aside. She had had friends, to be sure, but they were remembered with little to no emotion; merely stills in her mind, frozen holograms of strangers she had shared something with, once upon a time. There was a desert- a granulated wasteland of loneliness- and a lifetime of nothingness wilting underneath the Jakku sun. And then there was the shadow of Ben Solo. He had been a curious creature, so lost in his own haze of bitterness he could barely see past his own nose. Rey recalled his brooding figure, the way they had touched and shared a singular moment in space. She knew then that she must have loved the young man but that was not the Rey now standing on the alien planet. Every fleck of emotion was being dulled like the sudden snuffing out of embers only to be replaced by sa sharper energy the girl was powerless to stop.

Had she been walking? Curious. Rey's feet guided her for they were, apparently, much more decided than the labyrinth she was traversing in her mind. How could a planet be so desperately beautiful yet sinister at the same time? And then Rey understood: she was being watched. She'd been under scrutiny from the moment her ship entered the system. Her pace never faltered but her eyes darted from side to side and it was when she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up that she tightened her grip on her staff. In a blur Rey whirled around and stopped her staff a hair before the neck of a tall, parasitic creature who may or may not have been human at one point in its miserable life. The only discernable blood in his face was concentrated around his eyes and around his nostrils, his eyes milky and lackluster, barely a tooth left in his mouth. His robes flowing crimson, the creature glided around the staff and, unaffected by her defensive position, took in the girl's scent so longingly Rey backed up half a step in sheer disgust. The creature licked the open wounds in his gums but his eyes remained closed until he had savored every morsel of the girl's scent.

"What are you?" Rey cried.

"I am…" the creature began in a thick yet unidentifiable accent, "one who is friendly to your cause, my lady."

"My cause?"

"You are heir apparent to…" here the creature inhaled deeply again and ceremoniously exhaled with even greater rapture than before, "Darth Sidious…correct?"

"That is correct," Rey answered. Her eyes had shrunk to cautious slits, wondering if her patience would be rewarded in the end.

"Please, follow me, my lady," beseeched the figure, "We have been expecting an heir for some time."

"How do I know you're not leading me into a trap?" Rey demanded, no longer caring to mask her disdain.

"Ah, very well, my lady requires some…proof of allegiance." When the ghoul stuck his bony left hand into the right fold of his robe Rey's automatic reaction was to ready her staff but just as quickly the skeletal hand came out and it was presenting Rey with something truly special.

"I was bid to pass this lightsaber to Darth Sidious's next of kin," he cooed, sweet and rotten to the core. "No other creature can weild it. It is my duty to present it to you, my lady." The evil smear of a smile never left the wraith's face and the tone of his voice was enough to lull the girl into a fitful sleep saturated with nightmares. But Rey had come too far to be intimidated by ghosts. Slowly she recieved the lightsaber whose hilt was the color of blood. She had never seen anything like it. It was heavy; heavier than it looked and she tested it against her wrist for a few moments. Then, something unexpected. Nothing could have prepared Rey for the saber itself: a sizzling black so unforgiving she felt her pupils dilating and constricting over and over again as her eyes strained to make sense of it. Were it not for its moments of flickering and thin tendrils of black light vibrating at the sides one would think that the bearer was weilding a slice of shadow cut from the very heart of darkness itself.

Completely entranced by the weapon so terrifying and magnificent, Rey barely heard the sinister murmuring at her side.

"The weapon suits my lady well. Clearly she is an heir worthy of weilding it," said the creature, inhaling deeply again, "but then again, it is our gift to know who is worthy and who is scent of midi-chlorians always gives it away…"

"Midi…midi-chlorians…" Rey repeated off-handedly and her mind spun backwards to a man, a purpose and the battle to save all their souls. In that moment Rey surrendered herself to her surroundings. She had come prepared for sacrifices and was in no position to turn down answers when she was practically at the doorstep of the truth. Gripping onto her new lightsaber Rey closed her eyes and let the dull humming of the weapon carry her off to her destination before her body did. She felt the hand of Sidiuos- that which had unwaveringly guided her to Byss and admitted her unhindered entrance. Then a new type of Force welling up within, slowly conquering the fears and misgivings of the past. Sidiuos led her further into the planet until Rey was at the base of an ominous structure- the nexus of power. The girl saw a vast amount of knowledge hidden within the folds of a citadel far past its glory days. She saw a throneroom and its throne, odious and vacated, begging to be claimed. She felt the raw energy surging through empty halls and a voice calling to her from beyond the great tower.

" _Turn back, Rey!"_ It yelled, among other unintelligable pleas but Rey ignored it once and for all. She was at the heart of the spider's web now, spinning closer to something he had been dangling in front of her from the very beginning. She saw…

With a gasp Rey opened her eyes to find the same ghastly figure learing at her with a smirk still plastered on his face.

" _You,"_ she commanded, _"You will take me to the clone labs at once."_


End file.
